This Is How You Remind Me
by Spookykat
Summary: In which Dave Karofsky makes good on his promise.  Rated T for future chapters.  Spoilers through "Furt" apply.  Klaine-centric.  Slightly AU from "Furt," but no spoilers from that episode or any episodes that have aired.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **Like I reeeeeally need another WIP, but this just wouldn't let me go until I got it out of my system. I am a die-hard Katt-whore, but I absolutely adore Blaine...and there was this evil little prompt on the angst meme that I just couldn't resist...sooo...here ya go. Title is inspired by Nickleback's _This Is How You Remind Me_

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"_Good…because if you do…I'm gonna kill ya."_

In a haze, Kurt walked to English, trying to forget what had just happened.

Run-ins with Dave Karofsky and those goons he called friends were never fun, but lately, they'd been going from weird to just plain terrifying. Flashes of Matthew Sheppard and those other kids who were killed for being gay in other towns just like his floated through his head.

_Karofsky is just…confused…_ he tried to convince himself. _He's attacking me because he hates himself. And God knows I did and said some drastic things when I was confused about who I was. I made out with Brittany. And wore plaid! And can we please forget the clusterfuck that was my attempt at Mellencamp? Please dear GOD let there be no videos of THAT floating around the interwebs._

But he wasn't quite convincing himself.

It was just Karofsky's new way of making life hell for him.

Right? Right.

But still, every bone in his body was screaming otherwise, and his intuition was _never _wrong.

So what if gay intuition was never fully appreciated, but hadn't he predicted the hideous over-use of bangs this year? What if he was right about this, too?

He tried hard to brush it off and focus on the in-class essay on _Catcher in the Rye_. Kurt hated Holden Cauffield. He thought Holden was sexually repressed and secretly gay, but couldn't admit it, and what did he do? He whined about it and didn't actually _do _anything about his problems. Holden Cauffield, come to think of it, was a lot like Karofsky.

Cauffield never actually _did _anything about his issues. Maybe Karofsky wouldn't, either.

But still…

Kurt couldn't put a finger on it, but there was something about the delivery of the line that made Kurt think that maybe his nemesis might've actually _meant_ it.

Karofsky said he couldn't tell anyone. But Kurt thought maybe it might be okay to tell Blaine.

Blaine would know what to do.

Normally, Kurt wouldn't think twice about texting Blaine about anything that had happened with the bully. Ever since that day Blaine came to McKinley with him and he finally confessed what happened between him and Karofsky, Blaine had made him promise to tell him anything else that happened, and so far, Kurt had made good on it. He felt like he could tell Blaine _anything. _He could confide in his new friend about this, couldn't he? That'd be safe, right?

After all, Kurt reasoned, the likelihood that Karofsky even knew where Blaine went to school was about as likely as Snookie from _Jersey Shore _knowing how to spell the words beyond a third-grade reading level . The thought of his new friend (although he couldn't miss the eye-rolls every time he insisted to anyone that was ALL Blaine was, and he'd be as in denial as Karofsky if he couldn't at least admit that maybe he wouldn't mind if his relationship with Blaine was more than a friendship) he never grinned like an idiot every time he mentioned even Finn's name…and that's when he had a crush on his almost-step-brother.

He started to text him on his way to class, but then realized that that wasn't exactly something you tell people via text message, so he put the phone away.

And then..what if Karofsky _got to _Blaine somehow? He made a mental note to make his facebook profile private to keep Blaine off Karofsky's radar. And also, Rachel was already insisting that Blaine's interest was only as deep as New Directions' set-list, so really, there were soooo many reasons to keep his friendship with Blaine as private as possible. It was a small town. Kurt had been taking care of himself just fine for fifteen and a half years. He could handle this. Involving Blaine in this sort of thing could be awkward. What could Blaine do about it after all? It's not like the boy could ride in on a white horse and rescue him like some damsel in distress. He shook the image that came to mind of that _exactly _happening.

"Lucky horse," Kurt muttered.

Mercedes frowned. "You okay Kurt?"

"Fine. I've…uh…got to get to class," he blurted out and ran off in the opposite direction.

They were going out to see _Rent _on Friday. That was only a few days away. He could make it until then. He'd tell Blaine then.

The rest of the day came and went without incident.

He briefly considered telling Mr. Schue or even Coach Sylvester about the threat, but why involve them? What could they do, exactly?

And telling Dad? Or Finn? Or even Mercedes?

Mercedes would freak out. And to say that Mercedes tended to overreact slightly to things was putting it mildly. His father and Finn would be even worse. No way his father OR his almost-brother would let him set foot in that school ever again. He was pretty sure his dad would insist on home-schooling him himself if it came down to it, and Finn would insist on following him around all his classes.

Brittany probably would be trying to struggle to pronounce Karofsky's name. And the whole thing confused _him _enough. Brittany was one of the sweetest, kindest people he knew, in her own way. But she also had the IQ of a toadstool. Santana would probably personally put Karofsky's balls on a platter if he told her what was going on, but that would just be slight over-kill. Quinn and Rachel would probably launch a campaign. Really, Rachel could make herself very useful as a torture-device. But that would make Finn mad at him all over again, and he couldn't have that.

Tina…well, Tina was awesome but she didn't exactly have any influence in the school over anyone but Mike…and what would Mike do? Make him dizzy with his dance moves? And Artie? He could use his wheelchair and crush his foot…but bones heal, so…not good enough. And Sam? Maybe Sam could blind him with his hair.

So it wasn't like actually _telling _anyone would do anything but send everyone into panic. Probably unnecessary panic at that.

And besides, it wasn't like Karofsky was an actual _threat. _He was just a big, stupid, confused oaf who was too cowardly to deal with his own issues.

He'd been one of the reasons that school was so hellish nearly his entire existence. Thinking back on it, Karofsky probably thought that the only way to get the one you want was to taunt them, the way Gilbert Blythe did in _Anne of Green Gables_, but that only worked in cheesy novels, not in real-life. He'd figure that out and get bored and find a new method of torture.

The bully had already robbed him of his first kiss. What else was he going to let that stupid Neanderthal take from him? He hated that this idiot was taking up way too many brain cells and returned his focus to his in-class essay, where it belonged.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he discreetly glance at it and the goofy grin that seemed to be permanently plastered to his face lately returned.

Karofsky was _not _going to steal this from him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on Blaine. No, it wasn't getting the essay done, but it was a hell of a whole lot better alternative.

This whole Karofsky thing would blow over. And then he could focus on the things that really mattered.


	2. Chapter 2

The Karofsky situation was coming to a head.

Kurt confided in Blaine as much as he could, but Blaine couldn't do anything.

And nearly every time something really wonderful happened, like, getting a new family, there was Karofsky, waiting to rob him of his happiness, lurking in the shadows.

Karofsky was a bully. And bullies, at their core, are afraid. His dad had taught him that. But seeing his Dad go after Karofsky made him realize that no amount of bravery was going to win this war.

He couldn't tell his dad…or anyone else, for that matter…Karofsky's big secret. That was Karofsky's to tell, and nobody else's. He didn't know why he owed Karofsky that luxury, but he knew what it meant to be confused. Maybe, maybe if he showed Karofsky some compassion, Karofsky would back off, but it was becoming more and more apparent that this wasn't happening any time soon.

To hell with the platitudes about courage and quotes about standing up to fear. When you're afraid, the only sensible thing to do is _run. _ He _hated _that Karofsky was having that much control over his life, that he was robbing him of the people who made him happiest, but there really was no other choice.

"_Kurt, I'll homeschool you myself if I have to. I don't care. As long as that kid is here, you are NOT settin' foot in this school."_

"_Dad, I can't just LEAVE…Glee Club needs me. I can't just…abandon them like that. Mercedes and Finn would never forgive me." Kurt shook his head. "No, I have to just stand up to him."_

"_What about that school you were telling me about that your friend went to," Carole suggested. "Dalton?"_

"_Hey, that's not a bad idea, hon," Burt said. "What do you say, Kiddo?"_

"_Dad…that's a private school. That costs MONEY. You've got hospital bills and doctor's bills and medicine costs to worry about."_

"_So, we'll just skip the honeymoon," Burt said without hesitation._

"_No…Dad…I can't…"_

"_Honey," Carole insisted. "We'd much rather have you safe than go on some vacation. We can take a honeymoon another time. You're in VERY real danger here. We have to take it seriously."_

"_Kurt…if somethin' happened to you, and there was somethin' I couldda done to prevent it? I don't know if I could…" Burt sucked in a deep breath. "It's settled. Kurt, clear out your locker. We're transferring you today."_

"_Finn…Mercedes…I c-can't leave them. We've got Regionals coming up in a couple of weeks."_

"_You'll get to see them on the weekends, sweetheart," Carole told him._

"_Kurt, it's either Dalton or your Old Man schoolin' you at home…and Kiddo, trust me, you're better at keepin' the books than I am at the garage. Clearly, Dalton's a better choice."_

With a sigh, he made his way to the choir room and gave them the news.

A _solo_. Mr. Schue was giving him a _solo. _

And to make matters worse, the look on Finn and Mercedes' faces when he made the announcement made him wish Karofsky _had _made good on the threat. He tried to call both of them later, to explain that it really wasn't his decision, that turning his back on them, running away from Karofsky was the hardest thing he'd ever done.

But it would be two weeks before Kurt would see any of his old New Directions teammates again.

Normally, Finn would be looking forward to Thanksgiving.

His mom usually volunteered to work that night for the extra money, but before she went in, she would make one of those cool tiny baby chickens for just the two of them and mashed potatoes (they were instant, but still, mashed potatoes were pretty yummy, and you could make cool sculptures with them) and she even let him have a glass of wine. Then he'd go over to Puck's and watch football with him and Mike.

But this year, it was going to be soooo so different. And not in a good way. He was moving.

Two weeks ago, he was pretty cool with the changes. He'd finally have a _family_. At least, that's what he thought.

Until his new step-brother announced out of nowhere he was transferring to Dalton.

After Finn thought about it, it really wasn't out of nowhere. Finn really DID understand. He knew Karofsky was a jack-ass. He'd seen just a glimpse of what Karofsky had dished out. But Kurt was handling it. Karofsky got expelled.

And then he was coming back.

And just like that, Kurt was gone.

It'd been a couple of weeks since his step-brother left. Oh, sure, Kurt came home on the weekends, but Finn, for his part, made it a point to be unavailable.

And he'd been fairly successful until Kurt's Housewarming/Moving Party. He tried to find a way out of this, but when all the guys had accepted the invitation via Facebook, (he'd advertised it as a house-warming party, and only revealed it as a moving party after everyone had arrived), there was no getting out of this, and he really did want to get back into his new stepfather's good graces.

So here he was, helping his new family move, and it was becoming painfully clear that the word 'family' was becoming pretty damn loaded.

"Thanks for helpin' out, Son," Burt had told him. "Your mom has sodas and bottled water inside, and we've got pizzas comin' for after." Finn had nodded, shocked a little at someone calling him that.

"Finn," Kurt said tersely when he saw him. "Glad you could make it."

"So, where do I start?" Finn asked.

"Um, I guess you and I should probably move the big furniture in the truck so we can start on the boxes."

"So, how's Dalton treating you?" Finn asked, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

"Finn, you know it wasn't my idea to transfer."

"Yeah, but you didn't exactly protest."

"You think it was EASY for me to leave you guys? You think I _wanted _it to happen like that? You guys are like family to me. And you, Finn, you ARE family. And now with our parents…Finn…leaving that day was pretty much the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

"Family, huh? Kind of a far cry from _The Brady Bunch_, don't you think?"

"Well, it's not like you even _tried _to stay in touch, Brother of Mine."

"Hey! I wasn't the one who walked out here!" Finn erupted, the couch went down with a thud on the dry grass. "Your facebook posts made it look like you were having a _real _hard time. Who is this dude anyway who keeps commenting on your updates?"

"Leave Blaine out of it, Finn," Kurt snapped back. "Now, please either pick up your end of the sofa, or I'll tell Carole what you were doing with Rachel last weekend."

"What? She wouldn't even let me get to third base!"

Finn wanted to leave. He really did…and if it was just about Kurt, he would've. But neither Rachel nor his mom would never let him hear the end of it.

Finn would've said something about how he'd tell his dad about the collection of Barbies he found in his room, but he thought better of it.

"Dad! Dad! Put that down!" Kurt commanded.

"What? It's not that heavy," Burt protested, but Kurt was having none of it.

"Mike and Puck can take care of that," Kurt insisted. "PEOPLE! A LITTLE HELP OVER HERE PLEASE!"

"Takin' orders from a Goddamn…" Puck began, but Finn shot Puck a dirty look, which shut him up. "I've got it Mr. H," Puck said.

"Come on guys," Mike was saying coming back from the van. "Weather channel says there's a snowstorm coming in. If we're gonna get this done today, we need to hussle."

"DAD!" Kurt yelped as he spied his father picking up one of the ends of the mattress.

"Can I get some help over here?" Burt hollered.

"No, you can't! Dad, you heard what the doctor said."

"Kurt, quit treating me some damn…old person," Burt protested.

"Finn, a little help here, please!" Kurt pleaded.

"You boss us all around like we're your _slaves_? What planet are you _on, _man? Treat people better than shit next time you want them to do favors. Try, I dunno, NOT ABANDONING them next time!"

"You don't want my dad to have another heart-attack, do you?"

"No. I wouldn't want that to happen to _your _dad."

"Hey! Boys! Enough!" Burt growled.

Mike dropped the end table he'd been carrying and his attention was fully turned to the show in the driveway where World War Three was about to explode.

"Kurt, I can handle this," Burt insisted.

"No, you can't Dad. And I would think Finn would be _happy _to help, but apparently, SOMEONE'S got issues."

"What the hell, Hudson?" Puck exploded. "I thought you were cool with Hummel leaving. You'll shoot me death-rays for almost saying somethin' stupid, but when your own brother asks you to get somethin' off the top-shelf and you're freakishly tall? Not cool, Frankenteen, not cool."

"He's NOT my…" Finn began, but stopped himself as soon as he saw Kurt's expression.

Kurt stalked off in a huff, and Burt followed him. Finn would've normally followed, but he was in no mood to grovel, and really, Kurt was the one who should apologize to _him_.

"It was about help lifting a mattress, actually," Mike said unhelpfully. "And Finn," he continued, "you were cool with the whole brother thing, and now you're whining like a girl? I'm with Puck here. What. The. Hell, man?"

"It's a METAPHOR! DUDE, that's what I get for paying attention in English class."

"Finn, apologize to Kurt," Rachel insisted. "Apologize right this instant or I'll go back to my old wardrobe."

"Yeah," Artie butt in, "two days before it happened you were _serenading_ him. And now you're pouting like a two-year-old? Take the Double-you to the Tee to the Eff, yo."

With a resigned sigh, Finn went inside, but nobody was around.

"Kurt…?" Finn asked, knocking on Kurt's door.

"Go away!" Kurt's voice came through the door.

"Kurt, man…come on…I'm sorry, alright…"

He could hear sobbing. Finn sighed, feeling like complete and total idiot.

He didn't care if he was invited, he bounded down the stairs.

"Hey, you put it back!" Finn said, looking around, but Kurt was nowhere to be seen, and the lights were off. Luckily most of the boxes had been moved upstairs, so there wasn't much to trip over.

He saw what he guessed was Kurt's shadow, sitting on the floor, arms folded around his legs, knees curled up to his chest.

"Rum-Tum-Tigger…" Kurt said, pointing a finger in the direction of the bed. The lack of light made it difficult for Finn to see what Kurt was upset about at first.

"Who?" Finn asked, and turned on the lamp. "Oh my GOD!" Finn exclaimed when he saw it. He whipped out his cell phone "Yes, 9-1-1? Hello? Yes, um, my name is Finn Hudson. There's been a break-in, and the intruder left a death-threat. And I think my brother could also use some police protection…" there was a pause. "You can't? Damn. Ok, ok…just…please hurry."

Finn just stood there, motionless, still absorbing the sight before him. A skin-and-bones orange tabby cat was on Kurt's bed. Its neck had been twisted and its fur was matted in dried blood.

"UR NEXT" was painted on the wall in what Finn guessed was the cat's blood.

All the anger Finn had been harboring towards Kurt was forgotten. He just stood there, unable to move for what seemed like forever.

"You can't tell my dad, Finn," Kurt said.

"Kurt, are you _crazy_? I've got to call the cops. He'll kinda figure out something's up when they come."

"I'm so tired, Finn. Tired of being afraid. Tired of wondering _'What's next?' _Do you have ANY idea what that's like? I thought I'd at least not have to be afraid of him at Dalton, but now…" he choked down a sob.

"It's gonna be okay, Kurt," Finn murmured as he got down on the floor next to Kurt and wrapped his arms around him. "Good thing we're moving today. It's all right. You're my brother, and I'm going to make sure nothing happens to you. Understood?"

Kurt just cried harder, and Finn didn't care who was watching, or what it might look like, he just held him closer.

If Karofsky really intended to keep his promise, then Finn would, too.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Wow, you guys! The response on this has made me extremely thankful this Turkey Day! Hope you enjoy the update! Thanks again for the reviews, author alerts and favorites! Let me know how I'm doing! And Happy Turkey Day to all those who celebrate!**

It was about fifteen minutes until the police car arrived.

It had taken about thirty seconds for New Directions to be assembled in Kurt's basement. Puck and Mike had just gotten back, breathless, volunteering to look for any trace of Karofsky, but he was either very good at hiding or long-gone.

Mercedes just sat next to them, put her hand on Kurt's shoulder, letting him know someone else was there. It wasn't long before everyone else trickled in behind her, finding a spot.

"Maybe he left fingerprints," Quinn said trying to help. "If he did, that's enough evidence to get a warrant. He'll be in jail and then…"

Kurt let out a shakey sigh. "And then have more reason to come after me when his dad posts bail," he said.

"He got in while we weren't looking and got out," Finn said. "That's good, right?"

"Good, how can that be good?" Kurt said. "He knows where I _live_. He could be watching us right now. He could be…"

"So, we're totally your personal Secret Service, man," Puck said.

"We'll get walkie-talkies and code names," Sam said. "It'll be awesome!"

"What's your codename going to be, Evans?" Puck drawled. "McCaullay Culkin?"

"Guys, this is not helping!" Santana interrupted. "Kurt's in trouble and you're wasting time coming up with _codenames? _Oh grow up! Karofsky got to Kurt where he lives. I say we get him where _he _lives. Who's with me?"

"I'm NOT breaking in to someone's house. My parents would ground me until the end of time," Tina said.

"It's like he's got a Teleporter or something," Artie said. "Nobody can sneak in and out that fast."

"Hey, Kurt," Burt hollered through the door. "Wanna tell me why nobody's outside, and why there's an officer here to speak to you?"

"Just tell him to come down here, Burt," Finn said.

"What's going on?" Burt asked, through the doors.

"Come on in and see for yourself."

"No…Finn…I can't let my dad see this…he'll…he's sick," he got up as quickly as he could, grabbed some disinfectant from the desk drawer and started.

"Kurt, you don't want to do that. They're going to need it for evidence." Finn grabbed his wrists and with a thud set the bottle back in the drawer.

"Somebody's been watching one of the CSI's," Puck drawled. Artie glared at him.

"Oh my GOD…" Burt looking from the wall to Kurt and then back at the wall, back to Kurt again. "That Karofsky kid did this, didn't he?"

Kurt nodded. "Let the officer do his job dad…"

"Listen to your kid, sir. So, your name please," the officer said lamely, speaking up for the first time. He didn't look like he was much older than the kids were themselves.

"Kurt Eliza…"

"Elijah…Kurt meant to say _Elijah," _Finn insisted. Burt nodded.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Hummel."

The officer nodded. "Well, Kurt, I'm Officer Andrew Barrett, and I need to ask you a few questions," he said absently, flicking through the notes, barely looking up at Kurt. "Soooo," he said as he fumbled around for a pen. "What happened?"

Rachel handed him one from behind her ear.

"I found the neighborhood stray on my bed and its blood on my wall spelling out a threat," Kurt said in a tone that sounded so…well, un-Kurt-like, it made Finn jump.

"We were moving stuff out today, and it's been just us here all day…I came down here, and found that on his bed," Finn said.

"Look, we know who did it," Burt said. "This one kid was givin' Kurt a tough time at school. Had to transfer him to a private school after the school board lifted his suspension."

"And this kid's name?"

"Dave Karofsky, Jr.," Finn said.

"Well, son, there doesn't appear to be any sign of a break-in…"

"That's because the doors weren't _locked_," Kurt hissed.

"And these people are?"

"I'm Finn Hudson, I'm his brother," Finn said. "I'm the one who made the call. The guy with the Justin Beiber hair is Sam Evans, the Asian chick is Tina Cohen-Chang, Asian dude not in the wheelchair is Mike Chang, and they're not related. They just both have the same last name. Which is weird 'cause they're dating, but…you probably don't need to know that. The guy with the Mohawk is Puck…I mean, Noah Puckerman…"

"We've met," he said, looking up where Finn was indicating. It was then he finally noticed the wall. "Woah…so I'm guessin' none of you are responsible for the mural, right?"

"What's up Officer Barrett?" Puck said.

"The dude in the wheelchair is Artie Abrams, Brittany Pierce is the blonde with the vacant look in her eyes,"

"I think Finn just insulted me," Brittany said. "But I'm not sure because I don't know what vacant means."

"Brittany, you are my lady and I'll defend your honor accordingly. Hudson, you've been warned."

Finn nodded, suppressing a grin, trying to imagine how Artie planned to carry that out.

"Although, not literally, because making threats are illegal…and…" Artie swallowed. "Just pretend I didn't say anything."

"Quinn Fabray is the other blonde, and the one next to her is Santana Lopez, and this is my girlfriend, Rachel Berry."

"A. HEM." Mercedes said with her arms folded.

"And that's Mercedes Jones," Finn said.

"We're friends of Kurt's," Rachel explained up. "And we are all witnesses to _some_ of what Dave Karofsky, Jr. and his friends are capable of. And one moment," Rachel said getting out her iPhone. "I have to access detailed timelines with illustrations."

"Officer, I've seen this kid taunt my son myself," Burt said, shaking his head at his step-son's girlfriend. "We brought it to the principal's attention, and it would've ended there if the school board had any sense. But they didn't, and we thought he was safe from that little son of a bitch, but it's escalated to the point where he's _breaking into our home_."

The officer sighed. "I can call in forensics specialists from Columbus, and they'll be here in a few hours. In the meantime, nobody touch anything in here. And we're going to need to talk you all, so if you had plans...change them. If we get any evidence that proves he was the culprit, then we can get a warrant. In the meantime, Kurt, I suggest you come down to the station with me and fill out the paperwork to put a restraining order."

Kurt shot a questioning look at his father. Burt nodded.

"I'm comin' down with you," Burt insisted.

"So am I," Finn said. "Rachel, my mom's at work. Call her and tell her what's going on and everyone else? Sit tight until we get back."

Kurt turned around. "Thanks, guys. Seriously. Thank you. All of you."

"Kurt, you might be the enemy now," Rachel said. "But you're still family. And if Karofsky wants to get to you, he's going to have to get through all of US first."

Kurt smiled and hugged her. "I'm still kicking your asses at Sectionals," he told her.

"You'd better," she said. She bit her bottom lip.

'…_He's going to have to get through all of US first.' _Rachel's words echoed through his head on his way to the police station.

And that was exactly what Kurt was afraid of.


	4. Chapter 4

To say that Blaine Grey been a little surprised to see Kurt Hummel enter the Warbler's choir room one day a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving break asking about auditions was like saying the Pacific Ocean just had a little bit of water.

"_Kurt? What the hell are you doing here? And you actually snagged a uniform to sneak in this time? Way to up your spying game."_

"_I'm not spying, Blaine," Kurt said breathlessly. "I'm a student here now."_

"_What? Since when!"_

"_Since two o'clock yesterday."_

"_What? I apologize for keeping my response single-syllable. But seriously. This is…unexpected."_

"_I would've told you last night over the phone, but everything was crazy with the wedding and then the transfer and I just…long story short, Karofsky got expelled…and then they said he could come back…and…" he made a grand gesture, the grin that seemed to be permanently plastered to his face never left for even a second. "Here I am."_

Blaine knew all about the situation with his tormentors at McKinley. He even tried to help Kurt confront them, something he wasn't able to do himself. Kurt was soooo so brave, braver than he'd ever been. But that didn't make Karofsky back off. It only egged him on. The situation had escalated to the point that he was forced to find alternative education away from the comforts of home, the safety of his step-brother and his friends and teacher he'd come to think of as a surrogate family.

"_Kurt…I…don't know what to say except…Welcome to Dalton!" Blaine had said as he hugged him._

And then Evan had come over to him. _"Who's your new friend?"_

"_Remember Kurt? That one from McKinley I was telling you about?"_

_Kurt had smiled and shook his hand. _

"_He's not a Warbler yet, but from what I've heard, he's going to be our newest member in very short order. He's a countertenor," Blaine had added in a conspiratorial whisper. "Kurt Hummel, I'd like you to meet Evan McAllister."_

"_Kurt, welcome home," Evan said, flashing his perfect smile at Kurt. Blaine tensed. He knew Evan hadn't taken too kindly to his friendship with Kurt in the first place, and now that he was here, actually HERE, life was not going to be pleasant for the next couple of days. " I'm sure you have a lot of questions. Blaine and I will be happy to help you in your transition here."_

The permanent grin on his face had dissipated instantly as Evan pecked Blaine on the cheek.

"_You didn't tell me you had a…uh…boyfriend…" Kurt said. It was apparent to Blaine that he was straining to keep the disappointment out of his voice._

"_We've been dating for about a year. But, uh, Kurt. I meant what I said when I offered to help. You're going through a lot right now. I WAS you, remember? If you need anything, ANYTHING, you come to me, okay?"_

_Kurt had nodded, the shell-shocked expression still written all over his face. He wondered if he'd done anything to cause his new friend to think there was anything else. Okay, 'Teenage Dream' probably wasn't exactly in the 'friends-zone,' but still…it's not like he planned that._

And to make matters worse, Karofsky was still having an affect on Kurt's life, even though he was miles away. Although there were Facebook posts on his friends pages from the jerk, Kurt was almost ready to put the whole Karofsky mess behind him when he left for Thanksgiving break. But then when he came back, Kurt had retreated into a shell of his former self, jumping every time a locker slammed. Kurt wouldn't tell Blaine what had happened, but Blaine knew it was pretty bad.

Which was why Blaine felt particularly guilty for leaving Kurt behind.

"I'll be _fine_," Kurt had insisted as Blaine helped him load the last of his belongings in his Navigator. "I'll have my dad and Finn and probably the rest of the guys from Glee making sure of that. And plus, I can defend myself. I have mad Ninja skills, you know," he said with a grin.

Blaine laughed. "Somehow, I'm not convinced."

"It'll be okay, Blaine. We've changed our address. Unless I run into him in some random store over the holidays, it'll be _fine_. And I'm not kidding about the ninja…-ing. I'll have to show you my swords sometime."

"I'll show you my swords if you show me yours," Blaine said, waggling his eyebrows, and then mentally kicking himself for letting the double entendre slip. He knew it would only encourage Kurt, and it would only make Evan even _more _jealous than he already was, but if there was any harm in a little incidental flirting, he couldn't see it.

"Blaine!" Kurt said, swatting him on the shoulder as his face turned ten shades of red.

"And what if that DOES happen?"

"That's what restraining orders are for." Kurt smiled and hugged him. "Seriously, Blaine, I don't know how I would've made it through the last month without you. I mean, I know you've got Evan, but if your friendship is what I got out of this whole Karofsky mess, it was worth it," he said and hugged him.

Blaine told him goodbye, and that he'd see him online and to text him if anything else happened with Karofsky, and with that, Kurt loaded the last of his belongings into his Navigator and sped off in the direction of Lima.

The car was packed and as loathesome as he was to leave, he was looking _unbelievably _forward to going home. Blaine's sister Andie (who'd spent the last couple of years in the Peace Corps) had promised to bring her current boyfriend Zack for his approval, so the Junior was more than excited to go home. Thanksgiving had been spent in Barcelona, which was awesome, but it'd been a long time since he'd slept in his own bed.

He cranked the engine.

It didn't start.

'_I just got her tuned up last week! There's no way the battery could be dead on me. I just replaced it last month.'_

And that's when he saw the shadow of the hulkish form.

"Ohhhhh….fuck…" Blaine swore under his breath got out his cell-phone.

"Campus security?" hating himself for the panic that found its way to his voice. He'd faced bullies before. Why couldn't he… "Yes...please hurry to the Junior lot. I'm in my car. There's a person with a violent history in the lot with me and…he doesn't look friendly."

"Go ahead, you little fairy," the boy yelled from the opposite side of the parking-lot. "Go ahead and call the cops. By the time I get here, they're not going to be able to recognize your stupid, faggy face!"

"Karofsky…come on…just think about this for a second. There are security cameras all over this lot. They'll know it's you. Now, I'll ask you again. You sure you want to do this?"

"Damn straight I do. Oh yeah…straight's a figure of speech for you people, ain't it."

Another guy flanked him, followed by a second guy Blaine didn't recognize.

"My boys and I are here to teach you a lesson," Karofsky said, walking closer.

"You DON'T want to do this. You want to go to prison?"

Karofsky shrugged. "The queer thinks he can tell me what to do!" the kid said with a snarl, stepping closer. "The way I figure it, we're doing the world a favor."

They were close enough that Blaine could actually smell them. They wreaked of stale sweat and cheap cologne. Blaine got in his car and locked the door, got his cell phone and called 9-1-1.

"Screw the rent-a-cops," Blaine swore as he watched the boys coming closer and closer to his car, brandishing bats.

"What's that cookin' boys?" Karofsky asked.

"I don't know about you," one of them answered, "but I smell a fresh batch of whoop-ass."

With a loud bang, the glass on the window spider-webbed. A few more whacks with the baseball, and there was nothing between Blaine and Karofsky.

He yelped as they nearly yanked his arm right out of its socket. The burn from the seatbelt as they yanked him from his seat was burning as well, but the overwhelming fear was overriding the physical pain.

There was little Blaine could do to keep them from beating him to a bloody pulp.

With a crack, one of the bats went down over his rib-cage. Blaine sucked in a painful breath and prayed to whatever god was listening that someone…ANYONE…was on their way to stop.

Because otherwise…they were going to kill him.


	5. Chapter 5

Kurt hated the idea of not going to his old house. It served as further reminder that, for better or for worse, _everything_ was changing.

Feline-blood mural Karofsky had left aside, he really loved his basement room and the idea that all of his belongings were still packed in boxes broke his heart a little bit. The forensics team that came several hours later the day he found the grotesque message weren't able to confirm much. Although at least now, he had a restraining order filed against his attacker. But that only helped if he came near, and by then, there was little he could do to stop him. And to top it all off, his precious clothes were probably eaten by moths already, and oh, how he hated having to blend in, dress like everyone else, even if it _was _just for class and meals and Warbler meetings.

But still, he was glad to get to see everyone again.

He texted Blaine to tell him that he got home safely and wished him a Merry Christmas. Blaine didn't respond, but that in and of itself wasn't exactly news-worthy. Blaine often forgot his phone or left it uncharged.

"The target has been spotted," he heard Rachel saying. There was a pause. "PUCK! I WILL call the ACLU if you do not change that horrible name for this ridiculous plan of yours right this instant! No, 'Mo Guard is NOT appropriate. Not at all."

" '_Mo Guard…what the hell?'" _Kurt thought, glad to be reunited with his old family again.

More than clothes, more than his old room, he'd _missed them. _He missed seeing them every morning in Glee rehearsal. He missed doing Brittany's hair and laughing at the things that would come out of her mouth. He missed Santana's Queen Bitch attitude. He missed Quinn's strength and quiet confidence. He missed Artie's inexplicable lapse into ghetto-speak. And he didn't know Sam that well, but Quinn liked him, so that was enough for him. He missed gossiping with Mercedes as they locked arms down the hallway. He missed Rachel and all her…Rachelness. She was right. They were hopelessly similar, and that's why they'd been at odds so much of the time, but that's why he loved her, too. And who knows _why,_ but he even missed Puck, of all people. Puck, who, although he'd been one of the people who'd tossed him into dumpsters before Glee, was now ready to form a perimeter around him like the Secret Service. Most of all, though, he missed his brother. Finn was being every bit the supportive big-brother, and was cheering him on at Sectionals, despite the fact that they hadn't gotten much of a chance to be an actual family yet.

"Puck, Finn and the rest of the guys are inside," Rachel informed him as soon as he climbed out of the Navigator.

He hugged his former rival. "Uh, what's a 'Mo Guard?"

Quinn rolled her eyes and practically pushed Rachel over for her turn. "That's all you've got to say after a whole month?"

"I missed you too, Quinn," Kurt said, hugging his former fellow-Cheerio fiercely.

"Where's your robe?" Brittany asked hugging Kurt. Kurt just blinked in confusion.

"Robe?"

"You know…that school you go to? It's a gay Hogwarts, right? You need a red and yellow tie, though. Because you're in Gryffindor 'cause you're super-brave."

"Brittany, who told you Dalton was Hogwarts?"

Santana raised her hand and looked guiltily at the ground.

Kurt wrapped his arms around her. "You were amazing at sectionals," he told her.

She smiled.

Mercedes folded her arms. "Oh, I know you did NOT ignore me."

" 'Cedes, come on, you're pretty impossible to ignore."

"Whatever, you can make it up to me with a Housewives marathon."

"Oh GOD, I've missed TV!" Kurt said and hugged her tightly. "And you…I missed you, too."

"Welcome home, White Boy," Mercedes whispered.

The phone buzzed telling him he'd gotten a text, but he knew it was Blaine just wishing him a Merry Christmas.

Arm in arm, Mercedes and Kurt and the rest of his girls made their way into the Hummel-Hudson House.

And Kurt was _home_.

* * *

"We've met before," Blaine blurted out, trying to get a few good punches with his good arm.

"You know how I know this guy?" he said in a rush as he ducked a particularly furious swing of one of his assailant's baseball bats.

"Don't fucking care," the one Karofsky had called Azimio said.

Normally, Blaine wouldn't even think of doing such a thing. Outting someone else was a low, dirty move by anyone's standards, but these boys had weapons, and he had no other choice."

"Dave here's a closet-case."

Judging from the way said closet-case's ears were practically steaming, that was clearly a bad idea.

"You wanna know how I know that?" Blaine hedged as his assailants exchanged looks that clearly indicated they weren't in the mood for a chat.

"Not really," Azimio had said.

"Probably hacked into his computer," the other guy said. "Probably found something he stumbled on accidentally."

Blaine winced as they wrenched his good arm behind him.

"Twist my arm, why don't you?" Blaine quipped.

"We all know how sneaky those fags can be. Kurt even got to PUCK. Didn't think I'd ever see THAT day."

"Didn't have to be that sneaky. We have a mutual friend, Dave and I. Kurt? Anyway, the fascinating twist in our little story here is…Dave..." Blaine winced as his he was slammed into the side of the car with enough force to cause a dent. "was Kurt's first kiss!" Blaine blurted out before his head hit the side window.

"What the hell did you just say?" he heard Azimio's voice say before his head hit the glass and the rear passenger window now spider-webbed at the impact. Blaine was vaguely aware that blood was mingled in the cracks.

Something warm was trickling down into his eyes. He winced again when he bit through his tongue as he fell on the pavement as he went down like the Hindenberg.

Nobody was coming.

This was it. He was going to die here. In a fucking _parking lot. _

He'd never see his family again. He'd never see Wes or David. Or Evan. Or Kurt...

And then it was blissful darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

"There's my boy!" Burt greeted before Kurt could even set his bags down. "Missed you, Kiddo," Burt said as he hugged his son

"Missed you too, Dad," Kurt replied. "I appreciate the homecoming, guys, but seriously? I pulled a couple of all-nighters in a row because I was already behind in classes when I enrolled, and I'm really exhausted." He did a double-take when he saw Puck standing in the kitchen on the cell-phone.

"How was your drive home, honey?" Carole asked ignoring his request. Kurt was busy exploring his new surroundings. Finn and Burt had sent him pictures, but it never really registered that it was his new residence. Carole had one of those overstuffed leather couches and Burt thought it was more comfortable than theres, so he'd sold it at a yard sale they had to make room for everything.

"Fine," Kurt said, plopping down on the couch and closing his eyes for a brief second.

"Finn, get in here! Come say hello!" Carole called out to what Kurt later figured out was the kitchen.

Finn came bounding in cramming Doritos in his mouth. "Dude!" he said with his mouth still full. "You should see your room! I think you're really gonna love it. I mean, the view's not that great, and it smells kinda funky 'cause of mildew, but that's what Febreeze is for, right? Anyway, everyone all pitched in and we re-ordered the stuff from the Ikea catalogue you returned when you redecorated your basement."

"_All _of it?" Kurt thought, wondering how big the room was and how much room he had left for an actual living space. "Wow, I don't know what to say" was all he could manage to get out as he found himself being nearly suffocated in a hug.

"Subject is secure. Over and out," Puck was saying to someone on his cell phone.

Which brought him back to the original question he had when he first encountered Rachel in the driveway. "Puck?" Kurt asked, eyeing him quizzically. "What the hell is a 'Mo Guard?"

"Ohhhh…that," Finn began with a sheepish grin on his face. "Don't take it the wrong way, Kurt, but uh, Puck kind of felt like with you home for the holidays…especially given Karofsky's little…uh…surprise in your basement over Thanksgiving, we needed to up our game a little bit and be a little more…vigilant…with you."

"Vigilant?"

"Karofsky's car wasn't in his driveway today and we were a little worried, so…someone might have gone down to Dalton to check things out."

"You're stalking Karofsky now?"

"What? No. That makes it sound creepy," Puck said, answering for Finn. "Someone might've happened to drive by his house on their way somewhere and observed something, that's all."

"Why on EARTH would you do something like that?"

"Dude!" Puck said. "We're you're freaking Knights in Shining Armour. GOD that sounded...gay. No offense."

Puck's cell phone buzzed again and he glanced down at it.

"I don't need a…Dammit, Puck! I'm not some damsel in distress! I'll be FINE!"

"I'd seriously rethink that if I were you, dude," Puck said. "Ken-Doll just called."

"Ken-Doll?"

"Sam," Finn clarified. "We all have codenames. I'm Angry Squid."

"Angry Squid" Kurt asked in confusion.

"Check your messages," Puck said.

More confused than ever, Kurt dug his phone out of his pocket and saw that there were almost twenty from Wes and David respectively. Unable to get through to Wes, he called David.

"Hey, it's Kurt, what's up?"

Wes let out a shaky sigh. Wherever he was, reception was bad, and Kurt had a hard time understanding what Wes was saying. "Um…it's Blaine," Wes said in an unnaturally calm voice. "Uh, it's bad, Kurt."

Kurt felt all the blood drain from his face as he tried to register what Wes was trying to tell him. "Bad…how?"

"That guy who'd been bugging you, I think."

"Karofsky?" Kurt said, the knot in his stomach growing tighter by the second.

"Yeah…that's him. It's a good thing you're friends saw the whole thing and called 9-1-1. Otherwise…"

"Wait? Who?" Kurt asked Puck, not bothering to tell Wes to hang on a minute.

"We figured it would be a good idea to have a couple of pairs of eyes on you just in case," Finn explained. "Sam and Mike volunteered."

"Hang on, let me talk to him," Kurt could hear Mike's voice in the background. "Dude…I'm really really sorry, man," Mike said, voice shaking just a little. "We both are. We wanted to help. We really did, but since it was two against three, and they had bats, they weren't going to be stupid, but they dialed 9-1-1 and got the whole thing on their cell phones."

"Got what?"

"He's in surgery right now to stop internal bleeding," David was taking over now in a voice that was far too calm to describe the extent of damages he was describing. "He got some broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a broken hand and a concussion."

"S-s-surgery?" Kurt echoed. All pairs of eyes in the house were suddenly on him, and Kurt was painfully aware of it. He closed his eyes and cursed the tears that began to course down his cheeks. He was vaguely aware of a hand on his shoulder.

"The doctors say it's touch-and-go right now, but once they get the internal bleeding under control, he should recover."

"I see..." was all Kurt could say. And then he hung up.

He couldn't look up. He just studied his lap.

"I'm sorry guys," Kurt said, wiping the tears from his face. "I have to go."

Confused looks were exchanged all around.

"You just got home!" Burt objected but he shook his head.

"I know…and I'm sorry. But it's bad. Really bad. Blaine's in _surgery _now. Surgery because of _me_, and I can't just sit here and wait for news. I have to go…" he said again, gathering his suitcase and rummaging around in his bag for his keys.

"Hummel," Puck challenged, blocking Kurt's path to the door. "You are leaving this house by yourself over my cold, dead body."

"I don't care if you like it. I have to go…" Kurt repeated, fully prepared to knock Puck down with his suitcase if necessary.

"You just said yourself that you've been sleep-deprived for two days. No way are we letting you make that drive like this," Carole said.

Burt and Finn exchanged looks and nodded, seeming to decide something.

"Come on, Kurt," Finn said, grabbing his coat and keys. "I'll drive."


	7. Chapter 7

They'd been in the car for over a half an hour. The drive Kurt had just made from Hudson, Ohio where Dalton Academy was located was quickly becoming a familiar route, and Kurt hadn't done anything but stare blankly out the window while Finn drove.

And it was driving Finn absolutely nuts.

"Feels weird to be driving to a town with my last name," Finn blabbered on, making a feeble attempt to get any kind of reaction out of his step-brother. "I mean, I know I've got a pretty common last name as last names go…but dude, I know it's stupid and I know it's NOT, but it kind feels like a town's named for you or your dad or your great-great-grandpa or somethin'. Kinda cool, huh?"

Kurt nodded.

"We should be there in about an hour. You've gotta be starving. Wanna pull over and get somethin' to eat?"

Kurt shook his head.

"It's not your fault, Kurt. You know that, right?" Finn said in a last-ditch effort to get Kurt to talk to him. "This is _Karofsky's _fault. _Azimio's_ fault. _NOT _yours. Understand?"

Hot fresh tears were spilling down Kurt's cheeks again, which made Finn feel even worse than he already did.

"That's what you don't get," Kurt finally choked out. "It IS."

"How!" Finn exploded. "How is it even REMOTELY possible that this is your fault?"

"Karofsky kissed me," Kurt whispered, barely loud enough for Finn to hear.

"He WHAT?"

"The day before he threatened my life. It…it was my first."

"Oh my GOD…Kurt. Why didn't you TELL me? Or your dad? Or Mr. Schue? Or…or…the cops? Or…or…or…SOMEBODY!"

"Because…" Kurt let out a shakey breath…"because he said that if I did, he'd kill me."

"Oh man…so _that's_ what started this whole…and you told Blaine?" Finn asked, putting the pieces together.

Kurt nodded. "I mean, I-I-I figured Blaine didn't even go to McKinley, so it'd be safe, you know? But then Blaine offered to confront him one day and…it wasn't…" Kurt's shoulders sagged and he buried his face in his hands.

"Hey, Kurt," Finn said when he realized something. "I…uh…have no clue where the hospital is. I could plug it into the GPS if I had the address."

"What makes you think I have the address for a hospital in a town I don't even live in?"

Finn grinned, relieved that at least part of the old Kurt was back.

Kurt sighed. "I'll call Wes."

As it turned out, jail was a lot different in reality than it was on TV. The dim lights were fairly accurate. The over-tired, cranky cops were accurate, too. None of them were even remotely hot, though. But mostly, the thing you did in jail more than anything else, Dave Karofsky was quickly learning, was wait.

At least he'd been in a holding cell with Azimio and their buddy Tucker Greene, another jock on the football team. Otherwise, the cops had taken their cell phones when they were processed and the boredom thing would've driven him crazy. As it was, the waiting part was already a number on his sanity.

"So we'll tell 'em he attacked _us_," Azimio decided. "Like we tried to tell the cops. He was trying to come on to us or some crap like that."

"Good one trying to call that one cop racist," Greene said, high-fiving Azimio.

"Works like a charm!" Azimio said with a grin.

"They try to turn good people gay all the time," Greene said. "Hummel fucking _kissed_ you?" he asked, turning to Dave.

Dave just nodded, not daring to correct him.

It wasn't fair. It was all Hummel's fault. He'd made Dave want him. Always acting so damn superior, always acting like he was out of reach and so much damn_ better_ than everyone else.

And Hummel had the balls to go and tell someone.

"Hummel's gonna pay for this," Karofsky swore under his breath.

He was plotting how exactly that was supposed to happen when he heard his name being called.

"Karofsky, you've got a visitor!" The security guard bellowed.

Rubbing his eyes, Karofsky sighed in relief. "About damn time, he swore under his breath.

She escorted him to one of those rooms. It was exactly like it was in _48 Hours_. Tiny and badly lit, but clean and completely lacking anything interesting.

His dad was there, and his Uncle John was there and he thanked all the stars in heaven that there was someone with the sense to be a criminal attorney in the family.

"Don't say anything, David, let me take care of it, okay?" Uncle John told him.

Dave smiled in relief.

This was going to be a piece of cake.

"No, John, look," his dad was saying. "They've got evidence saying he's guilty. Apparently someone's got it all on a cell-phone." Paul Karofsky sighed and looked so…broken and disappointed. "Dave, come on. Be straight with me. What the hell happened?"

"I don't know. I just…he attacked me," Dave lied.

"You and your friends had _baseball bats_," his father spat. "I saw the evidence."

'_Oh shit…'_ Dave thought in a panic. _'That means he knows…'_

"Dave, if you're gay, straight…whatever, I don't give a damn. My best friend in high school was gay and I took more than my fair share of punches a time or two for his sake. You're my son, and it wouldn't have made a difference to me. But you _hurt _people, Dave. That DOES make a difference."

"I didn't mean…" Dave tried, but his father wasn't listening.

"You're my kid, Dave, and I still love you, but you're on your own here as far as getting out of this mess. I managed to get you back in school. But this can NOT continue. You will NOT cause another person pain because of issues, that for whatever reason, you can't deal with. I get it. You're confused. And I hate that I made you feel like you couldn't come to me about it. But this stops. Now. First, you're threatening that Hummel kid and now you and your friends actually BEAT UP this other boy? Who, by the way, is in surgery now and you'd better PRAY that he pulls through because if he doesn't, you'll be on the hook for his _murder_. Because if he dies, you'll just be doing time for aggravated assault, and then maybe you can get out on parole in seven years."

"Dad…I…"

"Uncle John will do what he can, but unless some miracle happens, you're gonna spend some hard time thinking about what you did."

"I can't go to jail Dad!" Dave pleaded. "You know what they do to guys in there? They make 'em their bitches. Do you want that for me?"

"You should have thought about that before you took your bat I got you for your tenth birthday to that Blaine kid," Paul said flatly. It wasn't cold. It was just…disappointed.

His father looked over at Uncle John. "I'm not posting bail. He'll stay here until the trial."

"WHAT?" Dave erupted. "Dad! You can't do that to me!"

Paul just put a hand on his son's shoulder. "This is the best thing I can do for you right now, son. I'm truly sorry it came to this."

"DAD!" Dave screamed. "DAD YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!"


	8. Chapter 8

They arrived at the visitor's Parking Lot of Hudson Memorial Hospital.

Kurt was unmoving from his seat in the passenger's side.

"Kurt, come on, man."

"I've been here sooo many times, Finn," he said, still unmoving. "First it was my mom. Then my dad…now…I don't know how many more of these trips I can take…" Kurt's voice trailed off, he bit his lip to keep it from trembling.

"Well, now you don't have to do this thing alone this time, you know? I'm here now. So is Mike. So is Sam."

Kurt just sat there, the giant hospital towers looming overhead.

"Come on, I'll take you to the Admissions desk. We'll find out where Blaine's room is, okay?"

With a nod, Kurt followed him.

"This is it, Kurt, Finn said.

Kurt could only nod in response, and Finn gave him his best encouraging smile as he opened the door, letting Kurt inside before closing it behind him.

"Hi," Finn said with an awkward smile to Evan McAllister. Evan was red-eyed and his features were drawn.

"And you are?" Evan asked, eyeing the two quizzically.

"I'm Finn Hudson. This is my brother, Kurt. But…you…probably…already know him."

Evan nodded a hello. "Weren't you already home?" the near-stranger asked.

Finn nodded. "Yeah, Kurt had just gotten home in fact when we got the news. He insisted on coming up here."

Evan nodded.

"We can leave if you want," Kurt said.

"No…stay. Blaine would've…" he stopped himself short. "…_will_ be glad t know you stopped by."

Kurt wanted to hate Evan. He really did. On his way up to the hospital, he was half-hoping that Evan wouldn't be there, but he was, looking just as messed-up as he felt about the current situation.

"I'll be outside if you need me," Finn said, squeezing his arm. "I'm gonna see if I can find the cafeteria."

The pump-hiss sound of the breathing apparatus was currently keeping time with the steady beat of the heart machine and those were the only sounds in the room. Evan was there, on the other side of the bed, and acknowledged his presence with only a slight nod.

He looked _bad_. His face was black and blue and cut in several places. His head was wrapped in a bandage. His right arm was in a cast in a bandage that seemed to be wrapped around his waist.

"I'm soooo soooo sorry," Kurt whispered, more to Blaine than to Evan, but between the two of them, Evan was the only one with the ability to answer.

"The doctors say he should heal," Evan said.

Kurt just nodded.

"The waiting's the worst, you know? There's nothing you can do but sit here. My butt's asleep," Evan said with a dry chuckle. "The injuries were so extensive they're not sure if there are going to be lasting effects or anything."

"Lasting effects?" Kurt asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

"Always a possibility with head trauma."

There was a knock at the door and a nurse came in.

"Sorry boys, Visiting Hours are over. I'm afraid you two will have to leave."

"Give us a minute, okay?" Evan asked. The nurse nodded.

"A few months ago, when my dad was in a coma, and I didn't know what to do until one day one of the nurses said he can still hear me, so I talked to him. He told me that he could hear what I said. He said he knew that there was a really annoying girl in the room and he heard me telling her and the rest of the guys to leave because I didn't like what she was doing."

"What were they doing?" Evan asked.

"Praying," Kurt answered simply. "Even though I'd told them not to pray for me. But I forgot that they weren't praying for _me_, they were praying for _him._"

"And he heard all that?"

Kurt nodded again., once again feeling fresh hot tears rolling down his cheek.

"At least the scumbag who did this is sitting in jail right now for what he did," Evan said. "Oddly, that doesn't make me feel a hell of a whole lot better."

"They what?" Kurt bawked, almost unable to believe what he'd heard.

"Your friends had a video of the whole thing," Evan explained. "One of them said it was because they originally there to keep an eye on you. So I guess I ultimately have you to thank for that."

"It doesn't make me feel better about what happened," Kurt said.

"No," Evan replied with a sigh. "Me either."

"So Karofsky was caught?"

Evan nodded. "Him and his buddies were arrested and they're sitting in jail right now, where they'll hopefully stay for a VERY long time."

"I should go. It's bit of a drive back to Lima."

Evan nodded. "I'll keep you posted."

Kurt nodded. "Thanks," he said. And then with one last look at the prone form in the hospital bed, he closed the door.

"Finn!" Kurt called down the hall, not able to find his brother at first. Finn came back carrying a couple of Styrofoam trays and cups with Sam, Matt, Wes and David in towe. "Finn, you know what Evan said?"

Finn just shook his head and handed Kurt one of the trays and cups. "Eat something. Your dad's going to kill me if we can't be home tonight because you're stuck here because you fainted from starvation."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "There are more important issues right now."

"Such as?"

"They caught Karofsky," Kurt announced breathlessly, still getting used to the idea.

"Yeah, I know that," Finn said as though it were the most logical thing in the world. "Mike and Sam caught the whole thing on their phones. We're giving them a ride home."

Kurt nodded.

"Kurt! This is great! What am I saying? This is FANTASTIC!" Finn said through a mouthful of burger. "Dude, you can totally come back to McKinley now!"

Kurt froze.

"Seriously! You can come back to McKinley after the winter break, come back to Glee, everything will be…why are you making that face?"

"Finn, I can't…"

"What're you talking about? Karofsky's not a problem anymore. Azimo's not a problem anymore."

"No..." Kurt began, shaking his head. "I-I-I can't go back to McKinley, Finn. Karofsky's gone, Azimio's gone, but there'll be someone else just waiting for their turn to make my life a living hell."

"Karofsky and Azimio were the main ones. That's what you said. And besides, we can totally go all Secret Service on you. You won't be alone at McKinley for a SECOND."

"You really think you guys can keep that up?"

"Well then, Santana and Puck can get the word out that you're not to be touched."

"Santana tried to intervene on my behalf a couple of times. If they really had the power to stop the guys who want to make my life a living hell, Karofsky wouldn't have gotten as far as he did. I want to go back…more than anything. I miss you guys. But…"

"Puck and I can teach you some self-defense moves. Rachel's already said she's getting you Mase for Christmas."

"As long as it's not a CD of her Greatest Hits…" Kurt joked, and a relieved smile crossed Finn's lips. Finally, Kurt was a little more like his old self.

"Seriously, Kurt, we can make this work."

Kurt shook his head. "Karofsky and his friends weren't the only ones. Until McKinley has a No Harrassment Policy and there's someone competent enough to actually ENFORCE it it...I…can't go back."

"And Dalton's supposed to be Fort Knox?"

"I don't get shoved into lockers every day, or tossed into dumpsters. I don't have to put up with the feeling of sticky ice in my boxers all day. It's not perfect, but…it's A HELL of a lot better."

"So, we can work on getting the policy changed," Mike said.

"Yeah, you know how Rachel loves a mission," Finn agreed. "Come on, Kurt, we can talk this out at home. Wes, David, nice finally getting to meet you guys," he said turning to his new Dalton friends.

He loved Finn for trying to talk him into returning to McKinley.

But it was going to be a cold day in hell before he set foot in those doors again.


	9. Chapter 9

It would be two weeks before Kurt would speak with Blaine again.

The truth of the matter was, there really wasn't anything to say. 'Oh Hi, Blaine. How are you feeling? Sorry I introduced you to the guys who nearly bludgeoned you to death,' somehow didn't feel like a good ice-breaker.

Blaine, of all people, was the one to break the silence.

"Blaine!" Kurt breathed as soon as he saw the name pop up on the caller ID. "How are you feeling?"

"Thanks to these little blue lovelies my doctor prescribed, I'm doing wonderfully. By the way, I wanted to thank you for driving all the way back from Lima to come visit me."

"I wanted to go back and visit once you woke up, but with Evan…"

"Hey, I get it. I would've probably done the same thing."

"Seriously, how are you doing?"

"I'm managing," Blaine responded a little too quickly for Kurt's liking. "So there's this trial happening apparently," Blaine began.

"Yeah, I know. My family and I were all coached by your lawyer's people last week," Kurt said, still tripping a little bit over the word 'family' as it applied to him. "Apparently court room dramas are SOOO not accurate. Actually, I'm really glad you called. I've been wanting to call all week…but…"

"It wasn't your fault, you know," Blaine said.

Kurt just nodded, as if Blaine could hear that over the phone.

"Kurt, seriously, you're going to have to stop being such a blabbermouth. I can't get a word in edge-wise."

"I'm sorry," Kurt said again.

"Would you stop apologizing for two seconds!" Blaine said in an exasperated tone. "You. Did. Not. Do. This."

"I know, I know…but I feel like if I'd never gone to spy on Dalton, you would've never confronted Karofsky, and you wouldn't have been…" Kurt trailed off.

"Kurt, it happened, okay? You beating yourself up over it isn't going to change that. I was the one who pushed you to confront that idiot. I put myself in harm's way, not you. I had no IDEA what he was…you're not the guilty p arty here. Evan, Wes, David and I are all in agreement. Nobody is holding you responsible for what happened to me."

Kurt sighed. "I just hope we can put him away."

"From what my VERY high-priced lawyers tell me, the trial's just a formality. He was caught ON CAMERA. And I have you and your over-protective friends to thank for that. There's no way he's getting less than a lifetime of flavorless prison food. And I'll bet he'll be the belle of the ball at the annual prison dances."

"I should be the one trying to make YOU feel better, not the other way around."

"I have pain-killers to take the edge off. Karofsky's not worth wasting one more brain cell on."

"Maybe once he's put away…" Kurt said.

"You cannot allow Karofsky to steal one more day from you, is that clear? He's not hurting either of us tonight. We'll only see him at the trial, and after that, he'll be out of sight, out of mind forever. Finn tells me you've changed since this whole thing began, and I don't want that for you."

"You've been talking to Finn?" Kurt asked.

"Just via Facebook Chat, but he's worried about you. For the record, so am I."

"Once school starts again, it'll be easier to leave it behind. But right now, being home and all of my friends living in crazy-land with the over-protectiveness, it's kind of hard to put it all behind me. I want it to go back to the way it was, too. But my friends are determined to not let me forget that the Karofsky's of the world are out there every second of every day."

"It's just because they care about you," Blaine argued. "You know that, right?"

"Yeah…just…wish it could be overwith."

"It will. Just…promise me one thing. Don't let him or anyone else…change who you are, okay?"

"I'll try," Kurt said lamely.

"Listen, these drugs are starting to work their magic, so I'll let you go. I'll see you when school starts back."

They said their goodbyes, and Kurt hung up the phone.

Which was perfect timing, because Carole was calling him for dinner.

* * *

Another week went by, and Kurt had barely slept. He had no doubt that Karofsky would be in jail by the end of the ordeal, but the thought of being in the same room as that monster was enough to necessitate a doctor's appointment just to get sleep medication.

And it didn't help matters that the phone was ringing off the hook. They'd even changed their phone number because of some reporter vying for an interview. Blaine being wealthy and highering high-priced attorneys apparently made it a high-profile case.

The worst part of it all? Karofsky was taking his first taste of the limelight from him, too. He wanted to be famous. Just…not for this.

"You all set, Kurt?"

"Ready as I'm going to be," Kurt said with a small smile.

"Just remember what the lawyer said, and you'll be fine," Burt reassured his son.

Kurt nodded. "I just…what if the other lawyer tries to twist my words, you know?"

"They'll do that. That's what lawyers are good at. But just stick to the truth, and you should be fine."

Kurt sighed. Blaine would be there too. That was another issue. He hadn't actually seen Blaine since that day in the hospital, and although Blaine was recovering now and was going to be _fine_, still, he knew it would be a long time before Blaine would ever be the same again. But at the end of the day, Karofsky would be behind bars, unable to hurt him or anyone he cared about ever again. That was the only thing that made this even slightly tolerable.

"Come here, Dad," he said with a wry smile, and immediately went to work on the tie that was still dangling from his neck. "You know if you hadn't married Carole, I would've _never_ have been able to go to Dalton with a clean conscience. You STILL can't tie your own tie!" He said with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, well, guess it's a good thing that it's not just you and me anymore, huh, Kiddo?"

"Come on guys," Carole called out. "If we don't get a move on, we'll be late."

Burt clapped his son on the shoulder. "It'll all be over soon. After this, he'll be in jail. That Karofsky kid will be out of our lives forever and things can go back to normal. You know it's funny, I should be angry as hell at that kid, but right now? I just feel sorry for him. His dad seemed like a real upstanding kinda guy. Doesn't mean I don't want to see him behind bars for what he did to your friend, but still…it's sad. You couldda gone that way, you know?"

"Like you would've let me," Kurt said with a grin as he headed up the basement.


	10. Chapter 10

Dalton Academy had something of a monopoly in Westerville's particular region of Western Ohio, which included the county seat, Hudson. The trustees employed most of the inhabitants. And, as Karofsky's attorney argued, if the child didn't GO to Dalton, they were employed by someone on the board at the school, or were a Dalton employee themselves, so the judge had to allow the venue of the case be moved from Westerfield to Lima.

The normally sleepy little cow-town had never seen such a circus. Overnight, journalists and reporters descended upon the town like locusts, and for the first time in recent history, Lima was making national news for something that didn't involve a natural disaster. Kurt could barely watch TV without hearing snippets of Karofsky's trial. Oh, sure, the phone rang off the hook, but since neither Finn nor Burt would allow him to leave the house, it wasn't until a gaggle of reporters mobbed him as soon as he opened the car door that he fully understood the amount of attention his hometown was getting from news outlets at nearly every level.

"MR. HUMMEL! CAN YOU GIVE US A STATEMENT REGARDING YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THE CASE?"

"IS IT TRUE THAT YOU ATTEMPTED TO SEDUCE THE PLAINTIFF?"

"CAN YOU CONFIRM OR DENY RUMORS THAT YOU AND MR. GREY ARE HAVING AN AFFAIR?"

"MR. HUMMEL! IS THIS SOME SORT OF LOVE TRIANGLE GONE WRONG?"

Kurt just kept his head down until a bright flash of a camera blinded him for a few seconds and he was caught off-guard.

"MR. HUMMEL! IS IT TRUE THAT YOU ATTEMPTED TO SEDUCE THE BOY WHO WOULD BECOME YOUR STEP-BROTHER?"

"GO TO HELL!" Burt roared, moving to physically block Kurt from the view of the cameras. "My son is a minor and you do NOT have my permission to speak to him. MY KID AIN'T THE ONE ON TRIAL HERE!"

"Dad, your blood-pressure!" Kurt tried to protest, but his father was not paying attention.

"I don't CARE. I will be damned if they're going to make you out to be somethin' you're not."

"GUYS!" Carole finally exploded. "COURT HOUSE! NOW!" and marched toward the entrance, yanking Kurt's hand almost out of its socket as she did so.

"BACK OFF!" Finn yelled for good measure, moving behind him.

Thankfully, the courthouse was not nearly as chaotic as it was outside. A quick glance at the occupants of the room, and he found Blaine sitting at the Defendant's side. He was flanked by people he could only assume to be his parents, along with Mike and his mother. Next to him was Sam and an older man about his dad's age who he assumed was Sam's dad (there was no guessing anymore where he got those mutant lips from). He didn't expect to see Sue Sylvester sitting behind her, or Mr. Schuester sitting on the other side of the aisle. He hated that because of him, their lives had suddenly gotten sooo disrupted. Will stood

And on the other side of the courtroom, there was a man he recognized as Paul Karofsky, sitting in the front, flanked by a short, elderly dark-skinned woman and a tall man who bore a resemblance to Azimio, and another pair of adults he guessed were the other attacker's parents, who was a kid whose face he recognized, but didn't know his name.

And there was Dave Karofsky, sitting at the defendant's table along with his lawyer-uncle.

Peyton Hughes, the prosecuting attorney for the case slid into the bench behind Kurt and his family. The law firm he shared with two other partners took up a city block in downtown Westerfield, and easily had twenty-five other lawyers plus just as many legal secretaries working under him. But from the beginning, Mr. Hughes had personally made sure that those who were willing to testify to put Karofsky away were well-prepared and at ease with the situation.

"I'm really sorry about the lynch-mob out there," Mr. Hughes told them. "I should've sent a member from my team out there to manage things a little better."

Will gave Kurt an a supportive smile. Sue just rolled her eyes.

Carole sat down on the pew behind his former teachers, and the rest of her family followed suit.

This wasn't the trial of the century by any stretch of the imagination, but for the first time in his life, something he said was actually going to matter. Kurt could say the right thing and Karofsky could, for once in his miserable life, actually get what he deserved. Or, if he messed up, Karofsky would go free.

* * *

"Case number 3:009-V032," a man in uniformed droned. "The honorable Vanessa Delgado residing."

The judge was nothing like Judge Judy or any of the other TV judges Kurt had ever seen, but she was a force to be reckoned with. Her bottle-red hair and angular pink glasses would've made Kurt laugh in another situation, but somehow, the judge commanded respect.

"Mr. Karofsky," the judge said, turning to Karofsky's uncle, "would you like to give your opening statement?"

"If it pleases the court, members of the jury," he said, standing up as he held up his hand. "As you can see, I'm holding up my hand. That fact is indisputable. However," he said, turning his back to the jury, "even though you never saw me put my hand down, you can only conclude that it is still up. Besides making my arm very tired," (this earned him a faint chuckle in the courtroom which was immediately silenced by a quick rap of the gavel) it's also a demonstration of how the facts will be presented in this case by the prosecution. The prosecution will make it hard for you to see how my client could possibly be innocent. The prosecution will bring forth their witnesses who will confirm their findings, that my client is guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. However, what they probably will fail to point out is that my client is the victim here. My evidence will show that it is MY client who was the victim of harassment here. It is MY client who was a target from the beginning for some kind of sordid homosexual recruitment ring…"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Kurt exploded, finally at his limit.

"Young man, you will control yourself in my courtroom, or you will leave. Understood?" Kurt sat back down, wondering if Sue finally found someone who might just give her a run for her money.

"See, ladies and gentlemen? That's not the kind of outburst you would expect from someone who'd been supposedly victimized by my client," Karofsky's uncle went on, seizing the outburst as an opportunity to make his point. "And it is your duty as jurors to weigh ALL the evidence put before you today and the days to come so that you make the right decision. Thank you."

After a brief moment, Mr. Hughes shot Kurt a warning look as he rose.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, my esteemed colleague is right. I will be making it difficult for you to find the young man sitting at the defendant's table innocent of the charges being brought forth in this courtroom today. However, it is a testament to the weakness of his argument that he deems it necessary to make such preposterous accusations. That young man is no more the victim of harassment than I am Elvis. He brutally beat a man in the prime of his youth. It is his good fortune, ladies and gentlemen, that rescue workers got to the real victim of this trial before the angel of death could, otherwise, we'd be sitting here at a murder trial, and not just aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Furthermore, there isn't just one witness, but TWO who managed to record the attack. Most importantly, you have an incredibly difficult task before you today. You are asked to decide whether or not a young man intentionally caused bodily harm to a fellow human being. Now, whether or not you agree with that particular human being's lifestyle is irrelevant. He deserves justice just like every other citizen of this country. He deserves to sleep a little better at night, walk around school without fear, to, in short, live a normal life. Once the evidence is placed before you and you view them as they are in black-and-white, you will have no choice but to return a guilty verdict."


	11. Chapter 11

Trials, as it turned out, were a LOT more interesting on TV.

The EMTs were called to the satnd, followed by the security guards and the officer who arrived at the scene of the attack, followed by the doctor who'd treated Blaine at the hospital.

Mostly, it was the same thing being repeated over and over and over again. Blaine was attacked by three kids with baseball bats, beaten within an inch of his life. What nobody failed to mention, though, was that it was all his fault. With each retelling, the attack played in his mind's eye. His fingernails dug further and further into his own arm each time the story was retold. At one particularly graphic testimony that included pictures, he was dangerously close to a panic attack.

Carole must've noticed him tensing, because she took one of his hands and both of hers. "Take a deep breath, sweetie. It'll be over soon," she whispered. He obeyed.

"Kurt, if you need a glass of water or something," Finn asked, but Kurt just shook his free index finger at him.

"I'm FINE!" he whispered through gritted teeth.

"Kurt…" Burt said in a warning tone. Carole shushed him.

By the end of all the witness' recanting of the events the day Blaine was injured, it was like he was watching an episode of _Law and Order _ which he'd seen a gazillion times and knew every line by heart. Except this was real-life. Only, what they were saying wasn't a script, and after awhile, he began to tune them all out.

That is, until Mike was called to the stand.

To see Mike Chang nervous was completely unsettling. Mike was always so cool and collected, but the dancer was the first of Kurt's friends to be called on the stand, and Kurt knew for a fact that he hated speaking in public, which was a big reason why he never really spoke up much during his first year of Glee Club.

"You're on the football team, correct?" Mr. Hughes asked.

"Yes," Mike answered.

"Then you knew the defendant well?"

"Not that well, actually," Mike answered.

"You went to the same school and shared a common activity. So why don't you consider the defendant a friend of yours?"

"He kind of ran with a different crowd. The guys I hang with on the football team are also in Glee with me, and those are the guys I spend most of my time with. When my girlfriend lets me, anyway."

This elicited a small laugh from the courtroom, but the judge rapped her gavel.

"And why didn't you 'hang out' with Mr. Karofsky?"

"Because the guy's kind of a douche bag," Mike said, which earned him a chuckle from the courtroom.

The judge tapped her gavel on the desk. "You will watch your language in my courtroom, young man," she said, glaring at him over the rim of her pink-framed glasses.

"Yes ma'am."

"So what made you stay away from Mr. Karofsky?"

"He had a reputation for picking on just about everyone."

"Have you ever seen Mr. Karofsky picking on people?"

"Oh yeah, absolutely. The thing is, a lot of the other guys on the team always picked on the geeks and losers, that's just the way things are. Not me, of course. But Dave would take it to a whole different level."

"Could you clarify that?"

"I mean, before, he'd just give people slushy-facials…"

"And what does a slushy-facial entail, Mr. Chang?"

"It's a slushy thrown in your face."

"And it's meant to humiliate a fellow classmate?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, uh, yes. Karofsky'd even do it to his fellow teammates if he felt they deserved it."

"And what, in your opinion, were Karofsky's criteria for "deserving" a facial slushy?"

"Usually, they had to do with Kurt. He had a real issue with him."

"You're speaking of Kurt Hummel, I presume?"

"Yes."

"And why was Mr. Hummel such an issue for Mr. Karofsky?"

"Kurt is gay."

"So you think Kurt was targeted because of his sexual orientation?"

"Objection! Speculation!" John Karofsky interjected.

"Move to strike."

"Oh no," Mike said. "The guy was a TOTAL homophobe. No speculation about it. He even targeted our friends Finn and Puck…I mean, Noah Puckerman…if they tried to back off of Kurt. Artie Abrams, another teammate and I, even told him to lay off Kurt not too long before Kurt transferred and Sam got punched and Artie got knocked out of his wheelchair because of that."

"And the coach had to step in to stop the altercation, correct?"

"Yes."

"What else has Mr. Karofsky done to harass Mr. Hummel or anyone who was known to befriend him?"

"Objection," Mr. Karofsky said. "Prosecution seems to think that Mr. Hummel is the victim in this trial, not Mr. Grey."

"Shows motive and attitudes towards my client's sexual orientation prior to the attack on Mr. Grey, Your Honor, which is key part of our argument."

"I'll allow the question," Judge Delgado said.

"Routine tosses in the dumpster was the main thing, but Karofsky started physically shoving Kurt into lockers. We never had any proof, but it was fairly clear that Karofsky actually broke into the Hummel house around Thanksgiving, killed a stray cat, and wrote a threatening message on the wall."

"Objection, speculation!"

"Move to strike," Mr. Hughes barked.

"Could you please explain what you saw on the night in question?"

"I saw a kid being attacked with baseball bats with three guys from my school."

"And why didn't you intervene? Try to stop the fight?"

"They're big dudes with baseball bats. Plus, I would've been trespassing if I'd actually gone in to try and break it up."

"So what DID you do?"

"I told my friend Sam to call 9-1-1 while I got the whole thing on video."

"Can you point out the attackers in the courtroom?"

"They're sitting right over there," Mike said, pointing to Karofsky's table.

"Let it be shown that the witness is pointing to the defendant, Dave Karofsky," Mr. Hughes said. "No further questions, your honor."

"Mr. Karofsky, your witness," the Judge said.

"Mr. Chang, could you please tell the court what you were doing, exactly, on Dalton grounds?"

"We were just in the neighborhood," Mike said with a grin.

"Young man, did you have reason to be there?"

"Well, yeah. We were looking out for Kurt."

"I mean, did you have permission to be on school grounds?"

"We were outside the boundaries of the campus."

"So…did you get a clear picture on your cell phone of the attack?"

"Well, you don't use your cell phone if you want a great picture, but I recognized the attacker right away."

"What time of day did this take place?"

"Around five o'clock in the afternoon," Mike answered.

"It gets dark early this time of year, doesn't it? How could you see them if it was dark?"

"I could hear their voices."

"Did you get releases signed from the individuals you filmed in the video?"

"Well, no. But I didn't post it on YouTube or anything," Mike said.

"Just answer the question, Mr. Chang."

Mike sighed. "No."

"Your Honor, I move to expunge the video taken from Mr. Chang's cellular phone on the grounds that it was illegally obtained and it is not actually possible to identify the attackers in said video."

"Your Honor, clearly Defense is reaching if he thinks the video is inadmissible."

"Mr. Karofsky, I've seen the video," Judge Delgado. "I have to agree that I could barely make out your clients. The phone, therefore, shall be inadmissible. However, witness testimony on what occurred is acceptable."

"No further questions, your honor."

On his way back to his seat, Mike laid a reassuring hand on Kurt's shoulder.

Kurt looked up and nodded.

"Prosecution, your next witness, please?"

"We call Kurt Hummel to the stand."


	12. Chapter 12

With a shaky breath, Kurt made his way up to the witness stand.

Usually, he relished it when all eyes were on him, but this was unnerving. It also didn't help that his family, Will, and Blaine were all giving him their best encouraging smiles as he turned to face the courtroom.

"Raise your right hand," the bailiff instructed him. Kurt obliged.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, or face the consequences set forth in this state for perjury?"

"Yes," Kurt replied, glad that they decided, for once, to honor the separation of church and state and didn't make him swear on a Bible.

"Could you state your name for the record, please?"

"Kurt Hummel," he stated dryly, keeping his voice as free of inflection as possible.

"Could you please explain to the court how it is how you came to know the victim?"

Kurt didn't miss the smirk Blaine had on his lips and then he realized why. Telling the court that he'd met Blaine while spying for New Directions probably wasn't going to exactly put him in a good light with the jury.

"The witness will answer the question," the judge said.

"I…uh…was visiting the grounds," Kurt said.

"Could you please explain why you were visiting the grounds?"

"We were all trying to decide on a number for a challenge in Glee Club. I was sent in to spy." Kurt chose to leave out the part that it was just a rouse to get rid of him so the guys didn't have to wear feather boas and anything remotely fabulous, but chose to leave that out.

"Spy? What for?"

"The Dalton Academy Warblers were a group we hadn't yet competed against for the upcoming Sectionals competition. I knew I was trespassing, and I knew it was wrong, " Kurt was quick to add, "but I put on a dark blue blazer that I owned so I could blend in, made the ninety-minute drive to Westerfield and found the Warblers in one of their impromptu performances. Blaine…I mean, Mr. Grey was the lead singer. I congratulated him on his performance, and we struck up a friendship. As it turned out, we had a lot in common."

"Such as?"

"We were both gay. That for me, personally, was a huge deal. I was the only one…like me…at my old high school. At least, that I was aware of, at any rate. We'd both had similar experiences with bullying because of our sexuality."

"OBJECTION!" Karofsky's lawyer bellowed. "I don't see how this tale of trespass has anything to do with the case at hand!"

"Establishing pattern, your honor," Mr. Hughes replied. "Also establishing the motive for the attack."

"Proceed cautiously, Mr. Hughes," the judge warned.

"How do you know the accused?"

"We attended William McKinley High together," Kurt said, refusing to look in Karofsky's direction.

"What was the nature of your relationship with the accused?"

Kurt sighed, looking down as his lap as his spoke. "Near-daily dumpster-tosses. Slushy-facials. I was frequently threatened with physical violence."

"Threatened how?"

"I'd stopped going to the men's bathroom at school because I was most often cornered there. I was shoved in lockers. And then he threatened to kill me." Kurt chose to leave out the kiss. That wasn't going to help matters.

"Who?"

"Dave Karofsky."

"And that's what prompted you to transfer schools?"

"Yes."

"Do you know why you were treated in such a way?"

"Because I was gay. Because he knew he could get away with it. Because it wasn't until it escalated did ANY of the teachers actually DO anything about it."

"How do you KNOW it was because of your sexuality?"

"He called me things like 'queer' and 'homo' and 'fag' when talking to me. When I finally confronted him about the attacks, he kissed me. He tried to do it again, but I managed to get away."

Audible gasps could be heard around the courtroom. He could hear his father's voice saying "Oh my GOD…" somewhere in the crowd, but he still refused to look up. He was glad Finn and Carole were there to try and calm him down.

"THAT'S A DAMN LIE!" Karofsky screamed from his seat at the councilor's table.

The judge rapped her gavel. "Mr. Karofsky, you will control your client."

"Mr. Hummel…just one more question," Mr. Hughes said, laying a reassuring hand on Kurt's shoulder. "Mr. Grey and Mr. Karofsky attended different schools. How is it that the accused and the victim even knew each other?"

"It was after…that happened that Mr. Grey came to my school to help me confront him."

"That makes you the connection between Mr. Grey and Mr. Karofsky, correct."

Kurt nodded.

"Please answer the question," the judge said.

"Yes," Kurt answered hoarsely, eyes not leaving his lap.

So he'd done it. He spilled Karofsky's secret. He'd tried to protect it as long as he could, but he just…couldn't. He had to tell the truth. Truthfully, he didn't know WHY he felt the need to protect Karofsky's secret. Maybe because he was afraid of what Karofsky would do to him, what his father would think of him if he knew. He could feel tears springing to his eyes and he held in a breath in an attempt to keep them at bay.

"No further questions at this time, Your Honor," Mr. Hughes said.

Paul Karofsky was shorter than his nephew, but somehow managed to look to Kurt to be even more intimidating if that were possible.

Kurt still wasn't able to look up from his lap.

He couldn't face anyone. Not after that.

"Mr. Hummel, " he asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "You like to draw attention to yourself, correct?"

Kurt's head shot up then. "I don't understand the question, sir," Kurt said, furry building up in his chest.

"I mean…you were reported to wearing a powdered wig, ridiculously high plat-formed shoes and a metallic top with matching leggings, am I correct."

"That was a costume!"

"And the feather hat you chose to wear one once? That was a costume, as well?"

"No…" Kurt said softly.

"Mr. Hummel, you make a…habit of making people feel uncomfortable, yes or no?"

"I make a habit of being myself. It's not my fault if it makes people feel uncomfortable," Kurt said, defiance flashing in his eyes.

"So you were being_ yourself_ when you made advances towards one Finn Hudson, the boy who was to become your step-brother? You were being _yourself _ when you confronted Sam Evans about his sexuality in the shower?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I developed a crush on Finn because he was pretty much the first guy who ever went out of his way to be…nice to me. I thought Sam was gay because he transferred from an all-boy's school and dyed his hair." 

"And now?"

"Sam and I are friends. Not great friends, but friends. Finn and I are brothers," Kurt said tersely.

"Is it true that you are involved with Mr. Grey?"

"No," Kurt said. "We are friends. He has a boyfriend."

"Is it true that you kept the victim's likeness pinned up in your locker?"

Kurt nodded, reeeeally wishing he could crawl under the closest rock at that moment and just stay there until the end of time.

"Please state either yes or no for the record, Mr. Hummel," Paul Karofsky insisted.

"Yes," Kurt answered.

"Had you developed feelings for the victim, as well, Mr. Hummel?"

"Objection!" Mr. Hughes thankfully interrupted. "This line of questioning has no bearing on this case. Council is reaching, your honor."

"Sustained."

Kurt breathed a sigh of relief.

"You become enamored fairly easily, don't you, Mr. Hummel. Were you…enamored with the accused?"

"No."

"No further questions."

"Mr. Hummel, you may step down."

Going back to his dad, Finn and Carole after all that revelation was the last thing he wanted to do, but he had no choice. Burt just put his arms around him when he made it back to his seat.

Instead of taking his old seat, he opted for sliding into one of the pews in the back, but Kurt didn't have to sit there long.

"The court will recess for lunch. We will reconvene at One PM to here continuing testimony."


	13. Chapter 13

Kurt couldn't decide whether or not the fact that they decided on a verdict in about twenty minutes was a good or bad thing.

Dad, Carole and Finn had told him how proud they were of him and how brave he was as they sat down for lunch at the diner across from the courtroom, but Kurt didn't feel worthy of their praise at all.

Thankfully, Kurt managed to avoid Blaine after the testimony, and if he could avoid his current crush altogether, he'd be thrilled. Because the conversation after the trial between them was going to be SO unbelievably awkward it would make Janet Jackson's Wardrobe Malfunction at the Superbowl seem like a minor gaffe. He was just grateful that Mr. Hughes didn't force him to answer that _last _question for the court to hear. To be permanently on court record. For anyone at all to see.

Kurt would be hard-pressed to report to Mercedes and anyone else who asked what happened after he took the stand, because truth be told, he wasn't really paying attention. He'd heard enough of the story repeated _multiple_ times even before he took the stand. Although Blaine was the victim here and Karofsky, Azimio and Greene were the ones on trial, after he took the stand, he felt like the one on trial was _him_.

He knew that the people who _mattered _weren't judging him because of the things he said, but he knew everyone else in the universe sure as hell was. He hated that his dad had to find out about the things Karofsky did to him in such a humiliating, public venue. He hated that Carole had to find out about any of this at ALL. He hated, most of all, that he wasn't allowed to keep his feelings for Blaine private. He wanted to tell Blaine those things in _his_ time and in _his _way, not with the whole courtroom watching.

'_Have you developed feelings for the victim?' _Doug Karofsky's question echoed in his ears. He was so SO relieved that Mr. Hughes hadn't allowed that question to be answered.

But now, the whole horrible ordeal was about to be over, because the jury had reached a verdict.

The twelve members filed in, and Karofsky, Azimio, and Greene along with both of the attorneys all stood up.

The bailiff handed the judge a slip of paper.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" she asked, reading the note.

"We have, your honor," the Jury Foreperson said. "We find Anthony Azimio, David Karofsky and Scott Greene guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon."

He could scarcely believe it. They'd _finally _get what they deserved.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury for your service. Anthony Azimio, David Karofsky, Scott Greene, I hearby sentence you all to one life sentence with the possibility of parole in seven years. You shall be remanded immediately into custody. Court is adjourned!"

And with a rap of her gavel, it was over.

Kurt's gaze rested on Blaine for the briefest moment.

"Come on, Kiddo," Burt said, squeezing him on his shoulder. "Let's get out of here."

Finn let out a loud whoop. "This is awesome! We got him! You can come back to McKinley now!"

Kurt bit his lip. Yes, Karofsky and Azimio were gone, but until a harassment policy was actually ENFORCED, going back to McKinley was out of the question. "Finn, I don't know if…"

He stopped as Finn's attention was averted. "Blaine! Hey, man!" Finn beamed, shaking his good hand. "Nice to finally meet you."

"That's my brother Finn, by the way," Kurt said with a grin. "Blaine, this is everyone. Everyone, Blaine," he said nervously. Blaine smiled, leaning on both of his crutches.

There was an awkward silence between them and Kurt felt his face turning red with embarrassment.

"Honey, we'll be right outside," Carole said. Kurt was extremely grateful that his stepmother was sensitive enough to pick up on the unspoken need for privacy.

"Thanks, guys. I'll be right out," Kurt told him.

"Burt!" Carole hissed through gritted teeth, but she was smiling.

"Dad, I'll be FINE! I'll be right out," Kurt insisted.

"We'll be right outside," Burt said, more to Blaine than Kurt.

As soon as they were alone in the courtroom, the crutches fell to the floor as Blaine threw his arms around Kurt.

Kurt returned the hug, a little taken aback by it. "It's over, Blaine. It's really over," he whispered.

"I just…I don't…" Blaine stammered. "I'm usually so much more eloquent, but at the moment I seem to be limited to single-syllable words to express how incredibly _grateful_ I am to you for what you did up there yesterday."

"I was under oath. I kind of had to," Kurt said, blushing furiously. "And it wasn't just _my _testimony that did it. I'll bet all the other witnesses up there had something to do with the guilty verdict, too. And your very expensive lawyers."

"I can't even imagine how hard it must've been for you. After everything they asked…"

Kurt really wished that Blaine wasn't using him for support right at that moment, because he wanted the luxury of not having to look his friend in the eye at that moment.

"What were you going to say if that judge had made you answer that last question?" Blaine asked.

"What?" Kurt balked, seriously hoping that Blaine hadn't asked him the one question that he _really_ didn't want to answer.

"It doesn't matter now," Kurt said, feeling his face flush again. "Evan's around here somewhere, isn't he?"

"Actually, no, he's not. I think he thought I was a little too…captivated by your testimony."

"I'm sorry…Evan seemed nice."

"I'm not…because he wasn't _entirely _unjustified."

"What are you saying, Blaine?" Kurt asked breathlessly.

"Look, I know Karofsky ruined your first kiss…but…"

That was all Kurt needed. He didn't wait for Blaine to finish. He grabbed the shorter boy by the color and pressed his lips firmly to Blaine's, who tasted like the horrible courthouse coffee mingled with his vanilla-flavored chapstick. Tongues danced with each other for who knew how long until they heard a cough in the front of the room.

"There's another case in here in about fifteen minutes," the Bailiff told them. "You two might want to think about getting a room."

They pulled apart and erupted in giggles. Kurt got Blaine's crutches and helped him balance and walked with him as he hobbled out of the courtroom.

"God, this feels like some kind of cheesy ending scene in a Meg Ryan movie," Blaine grinned.

"Actually, I think it's just the beginning," Kurt said, laying his head on Blaine's shoulder.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, this chapter didn't end how I planned, but Raul kind of insisted on it. Also, I know this FEELS like the end...but ohhhh, it soooo isn't.**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Sorry this update was so long in coming. Thank you for being patient! I had a hard time writing this chapter mostly because I couldn't figure out for the life of me where this was going before the final scene, but Raul was finally cooperative in filling me in, so here you go!**

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* * *

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After the trial was over, Kurt kept suppressing the desire to pinch himself to make sure it wasn't all a dream. He kept wondering when he'd wake up, but after the fourth Jell-o-shot at Puck's Do You Really Need A Reason? Party, he was fairly certain that even if he tried to pinch himself, he wouldn't be able to feel it anyway.

Kurt was just sure that The Warblers and New Directions wouldn't get along. Rachel being, well, Rachel and Puck being Puck pretty much quelled any hopes of that happening in very short order, but to his surprise, Sam, Puck, David, Finn and a couple of the other Warblers were engrossed in a video game while Kurt, Blaine and the girls were all crowded on Puck's couch. Well, all the girls but Santana, at least, who was in the corner getting along _very _well with Wes last Kurt checked.

"It's going to be weird at Regionals," Mercedes observed as she glanced in the direction of Wes and Santana making out.

"It wasn't weird at Sectionals and I'd already transferred by then," Kurt pointed out.

"Yeah, but we weren't _friends_ with the Warblers then," Rachel said. "I mean, as long as Mr. Schue comes to his senses and lets me have the solo, we'll win regardless. But you guys are good, too."

"What she means is that we need the win," Tina supplied. "We don't get to be a club next year if we don't win. But if we DON'T, as long as you kick Vocal Adrenaline's asses, it's all good."

"Think someone should tell Wes he's just caught an epic case of whatever the hell Santana's got?" Quinn smirked as she snagged another jell-o shot. "Last time I got drunk I got pregnant. But what the hell. You're only young once."

"Ovbservation," Lauren slurred from her spot on the loveseat. "Lime Jell-o without vodka? Dissssguthting. Lime Jell-o, with vodka, still gross, but I find mythelf far less consherned with the taste."

"Here, here!" Everyone within earshot agreed.

At which point, Brittany decided it would be a good idea to run her fingers through Blaine's hair. "Blaine are you sure you're not Mr. Schue's long-lost son?"

"Pretty sure," Blaine said as evenly as humanly possible. He hadn't had anything to drink because he'd promised to be the designated driver, and was therefore the only sober person in the bunch. He wondered not for the first time that night if Brittany was on something stronger than alcohol when she plopped herself down next to him and began patting Kurt's hand with one of Kurt's at the same time. "Kurt, between his hair and your hands, if you and Blaine had babies, you would have the softest person on the planet," she said.

Blaine shot Kurt an "Is she for real?" look, and neither knew quite what to say to that.

"You know I don't play for your team," Blaine began.

"That really doesn't make a difference when it comes to this one," Kurt said, nodding her head toward the blonde

"There's just so much OF it and I want to pet it…" Brittany said.

"You two are just SO CUTE!" Rachel squealed, smacking Kurt harder than she probably meant to on the shoulder. "Usually I find that when I'm single and someone else is disgustingly happy like you two, it usually makes me just want to slit my wrists, but Kurt, you've been through so much recently it's good to see you happy for a change. You were starting to get frown lines. I just hope when Finn and I are back together again as I know we are destined to be, we will be as disgustingly happy as you guys."

"Sweetie, I'm here to tell you," Kurt said, patting Rachel on her shoulder. "You dodged a bullet with that boy. He snores. He's messy. He thinks that grease and Twinkies are food groups, and he's got a slightly unhealthy obsession with video games. He's my brother and I love him dearly, but you need to find someone worthy of your greatness."

"Oh, Kurt," Rachel said. "You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself, Rachel," Kurt said.

Blaine felt rather than heard the phone ringing in his pocket. He dug it out, and frowned at the caller ID flashing Burt's name on the screan. "It's your dad."

"He probably just wants to make sure we don't need rides home before he and Carole turn in," Kurt said. He forgot that he turned his phone off after they arrived, and pulled it out of his pocket, a little annoyed to see that he'd gotten five calls from his father and two from Carole.

Thumbs flew across the keyboard.

"Who're you texting?" Mercedes asked. "Everyone you know in the world is here."

"Finn," Kurt answered absently. "He's downstairs. Just seeing if he got a couple of calls from our parents."

Within a few minutes, Finn emerged from the Puckerman's basement. "Think he wants us to go home?" Finn asked.

Kurt just shrugged. "He knows we're here and I asked if we could stay the night if we needed to and he said it was fine. Maybe he's just calling to make sure we're okay."

Blaine frowned as he glanced down at the caller ID. "It's your dad," Blaine said.

The first time Blaine Anderson and Burt Hummel said more than two words to each other, Blaine had nightmares of a giant wall of flannel attacking him in his sleep for two weeks after that. They weren't exactly best friends now, and although things had certainly progressed, Burt Hummel certainly wasn't the world's most chatty person he'd ever met. If Burt was calling, it was important, and the noise from the party was making it difficult to hear what his boyfriend's father was trying to say.

"Hang on, Burt, I can't hear you…I'm going to go outside. I'll call you right back, okay?" Blaine was almost-shouting into the phone.

Kurt looked at him questioningly, but didn't get up to follow him, finding movement a bit difficult thanks to the additional jell-o shot he just inhaled.

Blaine reappeared seconds later. He took a deep breath, causing even Wes and Santana to disentangle themselves from each other.

"Kurt," Blaine said. "I think I should take you home."

"Hey Blaine, everything okay?" Finn asked.

Blaine just shook his head.

"Don't let my dad scare you, Blaine," Kurt said. "He may act tough and scary, but really, he's just…"

"No…Kurt…" Blaine said, almost dragging Kurt off the deep-cushioned sofa which was apparently sucking the taller boy in. "Come on…I'm taking you home."

"I'm not going home, I'm staying right drunk. I'm here." Kurt stated matter-of-factly. "I mean, I'm drunk, so I'm staying right here. I promised Dad after the whole April Rhodes thing that I'd never drink underage again, and I have failed miserably at keeping that promise. If I go home I'm soooo going to get grounded. The good news is that by the time we get to go out again outside of school, Gay Marriage might actually be legalized in this state."

"I reeeeally don't think that'll be your dad's biggest concern tonight, Kurt."

"Seriously, dude," Finn asked. "What's going on?"

"It's Karofsky," Blaine finally admitted. "Apparently, since the jail is overcrowded, he's been granted House Arrest."

"You mean like Martha Stewart?" Kurt asked.

"House Arrest still means he's under arrest, right?" Mercedes asked. "I mean, it means he can't go anywhere."

Blaine nodded. "Policemen are guarding all entrances and exits to his house and he's wearing an ankle-bracelet."

"So he's just at home instead of in a jail cell," Rachel said. "It would probably be really hard for him to escape that. So Finn, just go home and calm down and I'm sure by the light of day, this won't look so…"

"How?" Finn asked. "In what kind of fucked up universe is that even possible?" Finn's voice was getting louder now. "We were just starting to get our lives back together and it was okay because that douche-bag was rotting in jail. But now you're telling me that he's sitting pretty in his house and now we have to jump at every turn again because of a fucked-up system?"

"Dude, no big deal," Puck said. "We can regroup the 'Mo Guard"

"And we all know how well THAT worked last time," Finn shot back.

"Finn, this HAS to stop," Kurt exploded. "Guys, if he really, really wants to hurt me, there's nothing you can do to stop that." With that, Kurt stormed out, the door slamming in his wake.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Finn muttered, following Blaine out.


	15. Chapter 15

Kurt hated football. It was a testament to how crazy this whole ordeal was making him that he was now fighting tooth and nail to go to a game for a team that only one last year because of his well-toned shins. Before the whole Karofsky thing, the very idea that he'd be arguing with his dad about why he should be allowed to go to a game whose only plus side was the opportunity to show off outter-wear would've seemed beyond absurd, but here he was.

"I don't understand, Dad, I thought you'd be thrilled that I am willingly going to a football game."

"Well, that makes two of us," Burt said. "Why are you fighting me on this?"

"I'm not going to miss out just because some psycho…"

"Not helping, Kurt," Blaine mumbled through gritted teeth.

"What you're father's trying to say is…you hate football," Carole protested.

"I hate football, but it's not even about that. Finn, Puck, Mike and Artie are playing. Quinn, Santana and Britt are cheering. Rachel and Mercedes will be hanging out with me and Blaine in the stands, and Lauren's agreed to be my bodyguard. I'll be fine!"

After the party at Puck's a few weeks ago, Lauren had insisted on being his bodyguard. Kurt thought any woman who resisted the Puckasaurus was worth getting to know better, so he agreed.

"You're friends are SO COMPLETELY aware of your situation. They will understand why you're not there," Carole reminded him. "And sweetie, you don't even LIKE football."

"Yes, I hate football," Kurt agreed. "But Karofsky is under house-arrest. That means that the chances are pretty good that he's not going to be at the game. I'll be in a huge crowd of people. Meaning there will be lots of witnesses. Meaning the chances of anything happening are pretty much nonexistent. And Lauren promised to be my personal body-guard. She towers over those guys anyway."

"Kurt, I don't get it. You're not coming back to McKinley because of this problem, but you're going to the game? It just doesn't make sense?"

"Look, last I checked, Karofsky's the prisoner here," Kurt insisted. "I refuse to be one, too."

Carole patted his shoulder. "We just want you to be safe, sweetie. That's all."

Carole and Burt shared a look, and Burt rolled his eyes.

"As soon as trouble starts, you get security and call 911?" Burt asked with a reluctant sigh.

"And you," Burt said, eyeing Blaine, "keep your eye on him at all times. He's not going anywhere alone. Understood?"

Blaine swallowed and nodded.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Blaine asked when they . "Because right now, to be honest, after what happened, I'm kind of all self-preservation-y right now."

Kurt shot him a warning look and Blaine smiled brightly. "Sorry, Kurt…I just meant…are you sure this is a good idea?"

Kurt nodded. Guilt flashed across his features for a split second, but a deep breath seemed to will it away. "Look, if you don't want to we can just…"

"It's not that I don't want to, it's just…"

"You don't have to go, Blaine."

"I kinda promised your dad."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Oh come on. I'll be fine. Mercedes and Rachel won't let me out of their sights."

"Call me after half-time, and we'll meet after the game at the Lima Bean, okay?" Blaine offered.

Kurt nodded and kissed him goodbye.

As soon as Blaine pulled out of the driveway, Kurt slammed the door shut and stormed out. It was so unfair. He never thought in a million years he'd HAVE a boyfriend, and now that he did, if they went out, it was always in Westerfield. Not that Westerfield and Lima were that different (there were more upscale restaurants, but that was really the only plus side).

"Kurt," Carole said. "Don't slam the door, sweetie. Your dad's gone to bed."

His shoulders slumped and she just hugged him. "Honey, I know this is frustrating. Believe me, it's frustrating for us, too."

"It's just not fair," Kurt said. "Blaine's gotten his cast off now and he's recovered, but we'll always have what happened before we started going out hanging over us. When Karofsky was in jail, we could at least get some closure and move on, but now…"

"Last I checked life isn't fair. But I also know that one way or another, that monster will get what's coming to him. He's not free, at least. He's under house arrest, so he's still being punished for what he did to Blaine. But Kurt these things have a way of balancing out."

"He wouldn't have been arrested for what he did to Blaine at ALL if I never went to spy on Dalton," Kurt said miserably. "We wouldn't have this memory at all if I weren't well…me."

"Oh, honey…" Carole whispered, pulling him into a hug. "You know the world will never be short of assholes like those goons. But sweetheart, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the way you are. You've just got to show them that _they're _the ones with problems that they have to beat you and Blaine down to make themselves feel more like men."

Kurt nodded and sniffled. "I should've started my skin-care routine fifteen minutes ago," he said. "Thank you for talking Dad into letting me go to the game."

"Anytime, sweetheart," she said, reaching up to tousle his hair. Kurt made a face, but then smiled down at her. "I think you've grown another inch or so this month," she mused. "Before you know it, you and Finn will be going off to college, and this will be nothing but a memory. You know that, right? Nobody wants you holed up in your room for the rest of your life. But for the sake of the people who love you, exercise a little caution. Go to that game. Have a good time. Just _be careful_."

Kurt nodded and left.

He had every intention to do just that.

* * *

Kurt still didn't understand why four minutes on the clock in football time had translated into a half an hour in real time. Nonetheless, he was excited to see the half-time show, and relieved that his parents had agreed to let him go.

It was by some miracle that McKinley was actually winning this game. It was fourteen to seven by the second quarter. Kurt was about to text Blaine to say it was almost time for a half-time show when he got a text from Artie, which he thought was odd, because speaking from experience during his brief stint as kicker, cell phones and sidelines did not mix. But nonetheless, there was a text. "I left my music in the choir room. Can you get it for me?"

Kurt showed Mercedes the text and motioned for her to let him past. "Oh, hell to the no. Kurt, if you think you are going anywhere on your own tonight, you are out of your mind."

"I can take care of myself," Kurt began, but Rachel blocked his exit from the bench they had occupied.

"Et tu, Rachel?" Kurt whined. "The main problems are out of the picture now and they're NOT going to be near the choir room. I think I'll be okay."

"Why are you going to the choir room?" Mercedes questioned.

Kurt sighed. "Artie forgot his music and just texted me asking me if I would go get it."

"That…doesn't make any sense," Tina pointed out, face wrinkling in confusion. "They're performing without music. They don't need it."

"I didn't ask him WHY he needed it," Kurt pointed out. "Good lord, people, it's not open season on gays or anything."

"I am not letting anything happen to my top competition," Rachel declared.

"Just wait until Lauren gets back from the snack bar," Tina pleaded. "Then you guys can go together. She should be on her way back soon."

"This is absolutely ridiculous. I can take care of myself! I took care of myself long before New Directions was a gleam in Mr. Schue's eye. I don't need a baby-sitter. If I wait until Lauren comes back from the snack bar, half-time could be over, and then what's the point of going to get the music in the first place!"

Just then the crowd erupted into a thunderous roar as McKinley was poised for scoring another touchdown.

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" Tina squealed.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON BUT WE'RE KICKING ASS! Dun Dun Dun, Another one bites the dust!"

"That's for a touchdown!" Mercedes grumbled.

"We didn't get a touch down…"

Mercedes jumped up and down. "WE JUST DID!"

Then the whole stadium broke out into _Another One Bites the Dust_ that time, and Kurt saw his opportunity to make his exit and took it.

* * *

Kurt texted Blaine to say it was close to half-time, and Kurt was started to hear his name being called. He turned around.

"Speak of the devil!" Kurt breathed, hugging him. "What are you doing here?"

"I make a promise, I keep it," Blaine answered, smiling a little too brightly. "And you're off by yourself WHY, exactly?"

"Just heading to the choir room," Kurt answered. "Artie needed music before the halftime show."

"That's weird…I just tried calling Artie because I forgot he was on the football team and nobody's phones were picking up to try and find out where you guys are sitting, and I got an 'inbox full' message."

"He's playing now, soooo…" Kurt said, shrugging.

"Come on, you wanna get the music and then get out of here?"

"Sounds like a plan," Kurt said, linking arms with Blaine.

It wasn't until he found himself face-to-face with the members of the hockey team who weren't on the football team that this might be a bad idea.

"Now I know what a hobbit feels like in the midst of a sea of Orcs," Blaine whispered.

"We're going to need more than snappy one-liners, and really, Blaine, you're playing the Geek card, NOW?"

"No step-brother in a red dress to help you now, Faggy," one of them snarled.

Kurt shot Blaine an apologetic look. He wasn't one to believe in miracles, but he sent up a silent prayer to the ghosts of Steve McQueen and Versace, because if fate didn't intervene very soon, the only way he and Blaine were getting out that door was in a matching pair of body-bags.


	16. Chapter 16

Kurt should have been shaking. He should've been terrified out of his mind. It was him and Blaine verses half the hockey team, and they weren't going to let them go.

"You're not going to get away with this," Kurt swore through gritted teeth as someone tackled him to the ground. He didn't know how, but he somehow managed to wriggle free of his captor's grasp, but it wasn't long before they managed to grab his arms and yanked them both behind his back so hard they almost popped out of their sockets.

He tasted blood on his lip. He knew he'd bitten through it when he was thrown on the floor.

"We only brought enough rope for one," one of the goons said.

"So, get creative," Strando replied.

Before Blaine knew it, he was overtaken by a couple of the jocks as they swarmed around him and before he had time to react, one of the jock's letterman jackets was being shoved in his mouth and tied around his head. They pulled it over his eyes so that he couldn't see Kurt anymore, but he heard kicking and a crack of a rib, and he knew Kurt was putting up a fight.

"Sullivan and Estrada," Strando was saying., "stay here and deal with Frodo over there. The rest of us are gonna bring Karofsky his birthday present!"

'_Cops will be swarming the place,' _Blaine thought. '_Please let there be cops swarming the place…"_

Blaine was completely and utterly helpless. He could hear Kurt's muffled screams and the sounds of chairs crashing. Finally one loud crack and the screams stopped, and Blaine's heart fell to his stomach.

He'd only just recovered from the last time he was attacked. This wasn't supposed to happen again. The justice system, for once, worked, and the ones who attacked him were being punished now for doing what they did to him, but now Blaine fully understood why Kurt needed to leave, because the goons' _friends _were currently leading him out to the parking-lot. He could only assume that it would be his firing-range. He vaguely registered the sounds of a truck driving off as he felt the cool breeze of the late-winter night air in his face.

He still couldn't see anything. The jacket was still covering his eyes and his hands were being held behind his back. He tried to elbow his captors in the general groin area, but they just held his arms tighter.

"Don't be cute," one of them snarled.

Blaine only struggled harder to break free of his captor's grasp. His reward was a swift kick in the groin, which made him double over, finally allowing the jacket to flip over so he could see.

He shook his head and blinked as he adjusted to the light.

Four hulking giants towered around him.

"Hey, he can see us now," one of them pointed out.

"Don't worry Sully," one of them said. "He won't be able to tell his story after we deal with him."

Blaine wanted to have a witty comeback like they did in action movies, but at that moment, he just stood there frozen and stock-still like an idiot.

They knocked him to the ground. Blaine kicked with all his might, but was only able to make contact with air.

And then he heard it.

The unmistakable roar of a Diesel engine, and he was blinded by a pair of headlights.

The blare of the horn rang out in the night, making the gaggle of Neanderthals scatter like flies.

He couldn't make out a face, but he heard the horn beep a few short honks and a voice boomed "HEY! BEAT IT BEFORE I CALL THE COPS!"

Blaine breathed a sigh of relief when they followed his order.

"What are you, some kind of caped crusader or something?" Blaine joked as The Stranger bent down to untie the makeshift letterman jacket and helped him back up to his feet.

"You okay, man?" The Stranger asked.

"I'm fine, but my…" Blaine hesitated for a split second. "My friend. They've….oh god…they're going too" Blaine thought he was going to throw up right then and there, but The Stranger put a reassuring hand on his shoulder as Blaine promptly threw up the contents of his dinner, barely missing his tennishoes.

Blaine sucked in a deep breath. "I usually have better manners than this, but I'm sort of freaked out right now. Can I borrow your cell phone? We should probably call the cops."

"Way ahead of you man. I called the cops as soon as I saw those guys kicking the shit out of you. He dug in his pocket and handed Blaine his cell phone anyway. "You're Kurt's boyfriend, right?"

"How did you…?" he said. His hands shook as he took the phone.

"Matt Rutherford," The Stranger said, extending his hand. "I was in Glee last year and transferred during the summer to Texas when my dad got reassigned. I still keep up with the New Directions kids on Facebook, and I remember the massive amounts of 'likes' on Kurt's status update when he announced you guys became official."

"So you're here because…"

"I meant to come ot the game to surprise Mike. I would've gotten here sooner but the flight was delayed."

Blaine smiled. "Blaine Anderson," he said. "I should…I need to call…" Blaine let out a shaky breath. "Oh man. His parents are going to kill me." Blaine let out a shaky breath and started to dial the area code. "Well, his dad, at least."

"His parents?" Matt asked, thoroughly confused. "I thought it was just him and his dad."

"Well, his dad married Finn's mom, so now…oh god….Finn's going to kill me, too."

"Woah, wait a minute. Be kind, rewind. So Finn and Kurt are kinda brothers now?" Matt asked, grinning and shaking his head. "Man, what else did I miss?"

Blaine shrugged and just kept staring staring down at the screen on the phone

"You know, it doesn't usually work unless you punch the number in," Matt said lamely.

Blaine just handed it back to his new companion and Matt, much to Blaine's relief, didn't feel the need to fill the silence with idle conversation as they waited for the cops to arrive.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: So apparently this fic is a slightly AU now in light of last night's ep, but I'm not complaining, are you? Sorry this took so long to update! Enjoy!**

**Warning: Language and implied non-con are in this chapter.**

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Kurt didn't know how long he'd been passed out, and he had no idea where he was.

Wherever he was, it was pitch black, and the only reason he was so sure that he was, in fact, actually awake was the sensation of the cool night air hitting his face and the very distinct smell of hay and manure mixed with the metallic smell of dried blood. He heard a horse whinnying when he awoke with a startled gasp of breath. He had to be in a stable of some kind. His eyes adjusted to the dark, and he could make out the whites of a horse's eyes and a pale muzzle, but he still couldn't really see much in front of his face. There was no light coming in from outside, and he was still bound securely by the rope those bastards had tied around his wrists, and even if he _could _see, his feet were bound as well. He vaguely entertained of hopping his way out the door (wherever that happened to be) and finding the nearest road and going from there, but the door creaked open before he even got the chance to try.

He squinted as a dim light was switched on somewhere.

"Sleeping beauty awakens," his visitor said, pulling up a nearby crate and having a seat.

"Karofsky, don't be stupid. Pretty soon, cops will be swarming the place, and you'll be adding kidnapping and escaping to your long list of offences, and do you _really _think that they'll let you stay in your nice cozy house after this little stunt you pulled?"

"Oh, I've got this all figured out. My boys have taken care of your faggy little boyfriend."

"If you lay a hand on him, Karofsky, I'll…"

'You'll what? Unleash your gay ninja skills?" Karofsky laughed humorlessly. "Hummel, nobody will realize anything's happened until after the game. And even when they do, they're not going to be looking here."

"Let. Me. Go," Kurt said in a low, furious tone.

"I'd like to but I would think a queer like you would be into the kinky bondage shit."

"I'm not afraid of you, _Dave_," Kurt said. "I used to be scared of you. You ran me out of my school away from my friends and family. But I came to realize that you're just a scared little shit who can't face the truth."

"SHUT UP!"

Kurt ignored him.

"You're scared of me because I represent what you most hate about yourself. You think that by destroying me, you'll fix everything. But those feelings won't just go away. Even if you make it out of this without being somebody's prison-bitch, you'll be a middle-aged man one day sneaking around with guys because you're too afraid to be who you really are.

"You may not be afraid of me now, Hummel, but I'll make fucking sure to fix that," he said, stepping closer. He heard the pop and felt the sharp edge of a blade against the tender flesh of his throat.

Kurt winced as the Karofsky was inches from him now. Kurt could smell his breath and sweat as he lunged his face forward, and kissed him hard and rough. It was just as brutal as it had been the first time he'd done it, and now, Kurt couldn't even manage to get away.

He tried to scream into the kiss, to break away, tried to bite his attacker's tongue, or kick…anything to stop the unwanted advances, but he couldn't.

Karofsky's hands roamed lower and Kurt closed his eyes and felt hot tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

"Stop…" Kurt whimpered. "Please…don't…"

"Scared of me now, Hummel?"

* * *

"Thank you boys, that'll be all," Officer Tucker said, closing his notepad. "He handed both boys a card. We'll be in touch."

"Wait…that's it?" Blaine asked, completely dumbfounded. "Kurt's been KIDNAPPED and you're just going to put out an alert nobody pays attention to anyway?"

"Look, kid. I know you've been through hell, and I don't blame you for being worried for your friend. But you've got to understand…"

"Well I DON'T, all right? I don't understand. You're really telling me there's NOTHING you can do?"

"Right now, no, there's not a whole of a hell lot. You have no evidence he's been kidnapped, and no idea where he's been taken. This county ain't exactly small. We've got officers staked out at the Karofsky residence, and if he winds up there, we'll know about it and then you'll know about it. But otherwise, we'd be wasting manpower looking for a needle in a haystack."

"Hold on," Matt said. "Blaine, you said you thought you heard someone drive off. When I came up, there was a truck peeling out of the parkinglot."

"What did the truck look like?" the officer asked, getting his notebook out again. "White. F-150. Kind of beat up-looking."

"You didn't see the license plate by any chance, did you?" the officer asked.

Matt shook his head. "Sorry," he said more to Blaine than to Officer Turner. "I just caught a glimpse of the car and it was going so fast…"

"Well that's somethin'…which direction was it going in?"

"They hung a right out of the parking-lot. After that…I was kinda busy."

"If you remember anything else," Officer Tucker said, handing both of the boys a business card. "Give me a call. Don't worry, kid. We'll do what we can to find your friend."

Once the officer left, Blaine and Matt headed for the stadium and found the girls in the stand.

"OH MY GOD!" Tina squealed when she caught sight of Matt. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to surprise Mike for the game," Matt said, hugging her.

"What the hell, Blaine, did you trade Kurt in for the chocolate king-sized model?" Lauren said, looking Matt up and down.

"Lauren, Matt," Mercedes said. "Matt, Lauren. What the hell are you doing here, Shaft?" she said going up to hug him. Then she shoved Blaine in the shoulder. Hard. "And what the hell is wrong with you? You know Kurt can't go anywhere by himself!"

"Hey, go easy on him," Matt said, returning her hug. "He's had a rough night."

"MATT!" Rachel squealed, rushing up to hug him. "Wait…why isn't Kurt…" Rachel asked, looking from Blaine to Matt and then back to Blaine. "Where is he?"

"I tried to stop it," Blaine began, unsure of how to form the words to tell them what had happened, because he could barely process it all himself.

"Wait…stop what?" Mercedes asked, her smile faded and her eyes widened. "Blaine…what happened to you?"

Matt, thankfully, filled in the rest.

"I cannot BELIEVE Officer KRUMSKY wouldn't do anything!" Rachel ranted. "It can't be right!"

"His name was Turner," Matt insisted.

Rachel reeled on him "It was a _West Side Story _reference! But that isn't the issue here. The issue is…" Rachel took in a deep breath and released it, and abandoned her spot in the bleachers. "What are we going to do?"

"I know that your brand of crazy is so special, you could it bottle up and sell it, Rachel, but what exactly do you propose?" Mercedes asked, following her. The rest of the group fell in line. "We don't know where he's gone…we don't even know who's…we don't…" Mercedes froze in her tracks and stiffened for a second. She wiped a tear that had escaped down her cheek. "We don't even…"

They'd reached the bottom of the stands now and were under the bleachers. Blaine felt so helpless. These people were more Kurt's friends than his, but he didn't even know Matt before tonight, and the guy had just saved his life. Rachel, Mercedes, Tina and Lauren were nice enough, but he wasn't exactly comfortable around them yet. He only knew that Kurt loved them, and they loved him. He'd taken Kurt away from them once, and now, because of him, they might never get him back.

"I'm so sorry, Mercedes," Blaine said, laying a hand on her shoulder.

Mercedes hugged him fiercely. "It's okay, Shortcake. He'll be fine."

"You heard what Blaine said," Tina said to Rachel, sniffling herself. "It's not just Kurt against Azimio and Karofsky anymore. It's _half the hockey team_."

"So," she Rachel said, laying a hand on Blaine's shoulder; "we just have to match muscle for muscle."

"Rachel, the parking-lot is the other way," Lauren said.

"I'm not going to the parking-lot," she said, not slowing down as she talked. "I'm going out to the field. They've got strength in numbers? We can match it."

"They're in the middle of a game, Rachel!" Tina protested. "We've still got ten minutes left in the last quarter!"

"I know that. I don't care," Rachel said, stopping now and wheeling around to face Tina. "There may only be ten minutes left on the clock, but despite being raised by two gay dads, I have enough experience with football to know that ten minutes in football time could be an HOUR real-time. We can't wait that long! _Kurt _can't wait that long. We need Finn, Puck and the rest of the guys for this one."

"They're kinda busy right now," Lauren said.

"Well," Rachel said, facing the football field now and approaching the benches. "I'll just have to find a way to get their attention."

* * *

_Reviews are love! Constructive criticism is appreciated!_


	18. Chapter 18

So sorry it took so long to update this! Raul the Muse was fighting me big-time.

* * *

Rachel was on the sidelines now. The noise of the crowd and the marching band was deafening.

"You really think they're going to hear you over this racket?" Lauren asked.

"I can project. And instead of pointing out the error of my plans, you guys COULD be helping me out."

Nobody did, though, as she waved her arms wildly about, yelling Finn's Puck's, Mikes' and Sam's name at the top of her lungs until she was almost hoarse. After she yelled "CALL TIME OUT! CALL TIME OUT!"

"Rachel," Mercedes said. "We're going to get in trouble! Let's just…we should call the cops."

"They already said they're not going to do anything!" Rachel countered. "How do YOU propose to get their attention?"

She was mid-chant when Sue jerked her head around like a T-Rex in sight of its prey.

"Oh great…here we go," Matt said as Sue marched over to them. "This is going SO well."

"I'm working with an ophthalmologist to get death-rays surgically implanted in my retinas," Sue bellowed. "That way I can cause actual pain to people who annoy me, and right now, you're annoying me. I know you're Schuester's Yippy Rat-Dog, but you're distracting my Cheerios. You need to stop. NOW. If you do NOT cease and desist, I will slice every microphone cord from here to Indianapolis, except one. And I'll use THAT one to wrap around your neck. Are we clear?"

"Mini-Me, what the hell are you doing?" Santana demanded.

"I HAD TO GET THE GUY'S ATTENTION!" Rachel screamed, in tears now. "I HAD TO!" She sucked in a deep breath. "We need Finn, Puck, Mike and Sam."

"IT CAN WAIT!" Sue roared.

"NO IT CAN'T! THEY'VE GOT KURT!" Rachel said, matching Sue's volume.

"Wait…what?" Santana asked. "Who's 'they'?"

"Half the hockey team," Rachel sobbed.

"Oh, sweet Porcelain," Sue breathed. "They'll kill him."

"Don't worry guys," Santana announced, turning around. "I've got this."

With that, she lifted her McKinley Cheerio uniform and bra over her head.

What happened next was a domino effect. The wide-receiver of the Shawnee Pirates, who had the ball, fumbled. Mike, who was in full pursuit, reached for the ball, but stopped in mid-air as soon as he caught sight of the view Santana had just supplied.

Sam, who had been poised to catch the ball once Mike got hold of it, got tackled. By Finn. The referee called interference, and Santana put her Cheerios uniform back on, turned to Rachel and smirked.

"And THAT is how you get a boy's attention," she said. "I'm gonna go tell the rest of the girls what's going on."

"Pygmy," Sue said, spotting Blaine. "You look like hell. Did they get to you, too?"

Blaine just nodded.

"I don't suppose you got any useful information while you were getting pummeled, like where they were taking him?"

Blaine shook his head. "I heard someone saying Sullivan and Estrada. They said it was Karofsky's birthday present. That's all I know."

"Joe Estrada and Jake Sullivan are tight," Matt said. "Like Mike and me. The Sullivan's have a farm on the edge of town. I know they wouldn't be dumb enough to take him to the Karofsky place, but nobody would think to look at the Sullivan's."

Finn was storming over to them now.

"Where's Santana?" Finn barked. "She has no idea what she did. There are scouts out there tonight! I was gonna catch that ball!"

"It was for a good cause, Finn," Rachel explained. "We had to get your attention."

Finn caught sight of Blaine then.

"What happened to you?"

"Finn, I am so SO sorry," Blaine began. "I couldn't stop them."

"Wait…couldn't stop who? Where's Kurt? You know he's not supposed to go anywhere by himself!"

"They took him, Finn," Rachel explained. "As a birthday present for Karofsky. That's why I had to get your attention. Santana was just…helping."

"Those sons of bitches," Finn swore, waving the team over.

"I think I can get the ball if I can tackle the Tight-End," Sam said, running up to them.

"Game's over, guys," he said.

"We've got, like, eight minutes left and we have the ball!" Sam protested.

"You wanna take over as Quarter Back, fine," Finn said. "But my brother's in trouble, and I've got to help him. You guys can come with me or not, but," he said, taking his helmet off. "I'm leaving."

"You leave, we forfeit the game," a jock named Michaelson called out as Finn went over to Coach Beiste to tell her what was going on.

"Do what you've gotta do, Hudson," Coach Beiste said. "But you're finishing the season as water distribution engineer."

Finn nodded and with that he walked towards the stadium parking lot, with the rest of New Directions (and Blaine) following in his wake.

* * *

It was the nightmare that still woke Kurt up on the really stressful days. The dream changed from night to night, but there was always Karofsky leering over him, so close he could smell his breath and sweat. A sharp blade always scraped against his cheek, and rough, brutal hands violated him.

But it wasn't a dream.

The curve of the blade grazed his Adam's apple, and Kurt could not suppress the shudder that escaped him, and Karofsky could barely contain his excitement.

"Happy birthday to ME," Karofsky said, and without any warning, he groped Kurt's dick through his jeans, grinning like Christmas had come early.

Karofsky knelt down so that they were eye-level, and Kurt had his chance.

There was a sickening crack of bone and skin-against-skin as Kurt's forehead made contact with Karofsky's nose, which immediately began to gush blood. Karofsky coiled back, cursing, but Kurt wasted no time in kicking his attacker in the groin, making him drop his knife.

Kurt tried to wriggle free from the ropes that bound his wrists. He'd tipped the chair over and hay needles dug into his flesh and ignored the taste of dirt and the way the ropes tore into his flesh, thankful for the flexibility that earned him a spot on the Cheerios.

Karofsky, though, was starting to recover.

"You made a HUGE fucking mistake, Hummel," Karofsky sneered, scrambling for the knife as Kurt was just finally able to get to his feet.

White spots blurred Kurt's vision and he cried out in pain as Karofsky crushed Kurt's right hand with his left foot as though it were a bug.

"You're the one who's made the mistake, you sick fuck," Kurt replied through a gritted teeth, the harsh language sounding foreign to his own ears.

"Homo wants to play?" Karofsky said, jerking Kurt upright. Kurt winced at the sudden movement. "Well that's too damn bad, 'cause I'm fucking done playing."

Kurt barely registered the blade slicing into his stomach. He heard a horrible squishing sound and blood began to pool where the knife entered, spilling over Karofsky's hand, but the pain didn't even come until moments later.

His surroundings began to dim, and he fell backwards as the metallic smell of blood mixed with the earthy smell of the stable filled his nostrils.

His life didn't flash before his eyes. He didn't have any visions of angels, or see any kind of light.

But still, he knew Karofsky had won.

He wanted to say something…something important, because he knew they were probably going to be his last words.

But no words would come.

It hurt like hell, and he couldn't fight the urge to pass out anymore.

He closed his eyes, letting the darkness overtake him.


	19. Chapter 19

"Dammit, Blaine," David cursed as he texted their missing soloist for the fourth time. "I told that Hobbit we had an impromptu meeting tonight. Where the hell is he?"

"Probably with Kurt," Thad answered. "Facebook updates indicate that there was a football game in Lima he was attending."

"Kurt? At a football game?" Nick said, giggling. "I think they're forecasting snow. In hell."

"He does SO love to show off his winter outer-wear, though," Jeff pointed out.

"Wes," David said. "It's Friday night. I know you just broke up with your girlfriend, but some of us DO have lives here. Can we PLEASE just cancel this meeting? We've been waiting for twenty minutes. Blaine's not picking up his cell phone. Neither is Kurt."

"What's the point of an impromptu meeting if the soloist isn't here?" Trent objected.

"Regionals are two weeks away and we still haven't picked our numbers yet," Wes said. "We skipped rehearsal last week to support Kurt and Blaine."

"Which was agreed upon unanimously," Thad sreminded him.

"Look, guys, they're probably making with the smoochies," David said. "Why can't we just let them be? With the trial and everything, it's been rough for them."

"I know that it's Friday, and if ANY of you break into that stupid-ass song Mr. Bangy will have something to say about it," Wes said, choosing to ignore the massive amounts of eye-rolling and giggling. "Seriously, guys. Between Blaine's unfortunate accident and the trial, we've lost too much time. We have to make it up at some point, and this is the only time we could all agree upon. We can work on the harmonies on the way back, and finalize the choreography next meeting."

"Can't we just…do that next meeting?" a bass singer named Theo asked.

"No, Warbler Theo, we can NOT do that next meeting. We've only had twenty-one meetings."

"I think I speak for the entire group when I say… 'So?'" David said.

"Warbler History indicates that back in 1941, they only had twenty-one rehearsals due to the outbreak of World War II. Do you know what happened when they only had twenty-one rehearsals? People _died_. Of non-war related causes! Coincidence? I think not!"

"So what do you propose, Wes?" Thad demanded. "If we leave now, we won't even get to Lima until around ten or so."

"Oh come on, like you guys had anything better to do tonight." Wes said as he rapped his gavel. "I officially call this meeting adjourned. Gentlemen, to the Warblermobile!"

"I call shot-gun," David said.

* * *

"Matt, bro, you have shitty timing," Mike grinned when he spotted Matt as they exited the stadium.

Matt grinned back and hugged his best friend. "No, man," he said. "Looks like I got here just when things are starting to get interesting."

"I'm just glad you're here," Mike said. "We might need the man-power."

"Man-power?"

"I don't think the hockey team is going to be too thrilled to see us."

"It's about to get real, isn't it?" Matt asked.

Mike just nodded.

The Lima that Matt Rutherford left was, as far as he was concerned, the most boring place on the planet. Puck only got into trouble because he was bored. Ok, so he usually got into trouble because he was an idiot, but boredom had a lot to do with it. Finn _did_ hit that postal worker that one time, but that wasn't really what Matt would call deadly, either. The guy walks funny now, but that was pretty much it.

Nothing ever happened. Nothing serious, anyway. The most serious thing that ever happened before he transferred was Quinn's baby-drama. That was the closest he ever got to life-or-death situations, and nobody's life depended on him showing up at the right time.

He was pretty sure the big excitement was going to be the relationship-drama, which was what usually went down with his old friends and their revolving-door relationships. As glad as he was to see them again (especially Mike, whom he hadn't seen since Christmas), he really, really longed for the days when that was still true.

Now, though? Some kid Matt knew via Facebook only would've probably died if his flight had actually been on time like it was supposed to be. That thought sort of blew him away.

He'd never saved anyone's life before.

And now they were on their way to rescue Kurt freaking Hummel.

Who, apparently, is now Finn's brother.

So evidently things changed a lot while he was gone.

Matt wasn't all that close with Kurt, but he got placed next to him enough in the routines during his time in New Directions that he had a vague idea of what kind of shit he dealt with on a daily basis. Whatever faults Kurt might've had, he certainly didn't deserve whatever Karofsky had planned for him.

"Finn, wait, man," Matt said, catching up to his old teammate. "Look, I know you want to help Kurt, but you're going about it all wrong."

"Oh yeah?" Finn said. "You've got any better ideas? We wait for the cops, and he could be dead. I made a promise, Matt. I can't…" Finn shook his head. "Damn. I need my keys. They're in my gym bag in the locker-room."

Matt shook his head and dug out his cell phone.

"What are you doing?" Finn asked.

"Calling the cavalry," Matt said. "Look, half the hockey team versus us? Grandma Ruth is NOT going to bail my sorry ass out of jail if someone ELSE decides to call the cops. And what if Kurt needs medical help?"

"Hopefully it won't come to that," Finn said. "Besides, we don't even know where they've taken him. He could be anywhere."

"Dude," Puck said as he noticed a dark van with an Ohio tag that said WARBL1 on the front. "I think the cavalry's here."


	20. Chapter 20

"Excuse me, New Directions," Wes addressed the group as he got out of the van. "We are in need of your assistance. I understand that Warbler Blaine and Warbler Kurt are in your company, and we require their presence."

"For WHAT?" Santana demanded, sashaying towards Wes as the rest of New Directions parted like the Red Sea for her.

"Rehearsal, of course," Wes answered as though it were the most logical explanation in the world.

"Yeah right," Santana said, playing with the tie. "Rehearsal. I bet you guys just want to go play Dungeons and Dragons or some geeky shit like that."

"Just because _Blaine_ is a shameless geek doesn't mean that I am, miss…" Wes trailed off.

"Hey!" Blaine protested from somewhere among the group.

"Blaine, there you are!" David said. "Come on man. Tell Kurt to get his butt back here. Wes is serious about the practicing. And not like how YOU two do it." David said, the grin dissolved into shock as soon as he caught sight of his friend. "What the hell…?"

"Oh God…" Wes murmured.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Blaine said, smiling as much as he could with a split lip. He let out a shaky breath, and then inhaled sharply. "But…Kurt…" he released the sob he could no longer hold back. "Oh god…he can't…I c-can't lose him." He was shaking with sobs now, the adrenaline from the attack finally loosening its hold on his nervous system.

"Hey," David said softly, pulling his friend into a hug. "It'll be alright, Blaine."

"I keep telling him the same thing," Mercedes said.

"Is it the same one who attacked you before?" Wes asked quietly after a little while.

Blaine shook his head.

"They're friends of his, though," Finn said. "Look, we've got this. If you want to take him home, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea."

"No way, man," David said. "This sick fuck almost killed our soloist, and now they've got Kurt. No way in hell are we just turning around. Nobody hurts a Warbler and gets away with it."

"New Directions," Wes said. "I have a gavel, and I'm not afraid to use it. The Warblers are at your service."

* * *

Dave Karofsky was feeling a lot of things watching Kurt Hummel bleed to death on the floor of the Sullivan's barn, but 'sorry' wasn't one of them.

Hummel, as far as he was concerned, had it coming.

He'd had it coming from day one, wearing all those fancy clothes and walking around like he was so damn much better than everyone else. Who the hell was he fucking kidding?

Hummel didn't even have the decency to scream

"Why?" he hissed, gasping for air.

"I don't owe you a Goddamn explanation," Karofsky said. "You just don't get it do you?"

Hummel only screamed in pain in response.

"You've got _everyone_ buying into your little act. Everyone thinks you're so Goddamn special. Well I'm here to tell ya…." Karofsky paused so he could kneel down next to his victim. "You're just as much of a loser as everyone else is in this crappy town."

"You have no…" Kurt started, but pain over took him again, and he was screaming, but Karofsky used the opportunity to have his captive audience.

"You've got Hudson and the rest of the jocks (and even the fat chick, for fuck's sake) constantly rescuing your sorry ass like the fucking princess you are. It's pathetic. _You're_ pathetic. You've got everyone, even Puckerman, believing that you're so goddamn special that now, they're getting their asses tossed in the dumpster and slushied all for your sorry, faggy ass."

"That's what this is about?" Kurt hissed out through clenched teeth. "You're jealous?"

"No man, not jealous. Why the fuck would I be jealous? You've been asking for this for years. _Begging_ for it, even. You could just keep your head down and learn your place in the world and accept your lot in life, but NO. You don't just spread your fairy-dust around with your boyfriend. You flaunt it like it's something to be _proud of_. _That_ is what's messed up, Hummel. It's about damn time someone reminded you AND your little posse of dancing queens what's what around here."

"You didn't have to…" Kurt began, but the pain overtook him again and he cried out.

"OH MY GOD!" Kurt barely registered Blaine's voice on the other side of the door. "KURT!"

"How the hell…? I thought he was taken care of."

"WE'RE HERE, KURT! HANG ON!" Finn shouted from the other side.

"HERE'S HOW THIS IS GOING TO GO," Puck said. "YOU'LL LET US IN. WE'LL LET YOU LIVE."

Then the sound of skin-against-skin and a loud thud as a couple of hockey-players hit the floor.

The sound of sirens could be heard outside.

"Oh my GOD…they called the cops!" one of the jocks outside the door yelled. And then it was suddenly quiet outside.

"Karofsky, what the hell did you do?" Finn demanded. "

"Kurt!" Blaine breathed. "Oh my God…" In a flash, Blaine slid down on his knees to Kurt's side, and took Kurt's clammy hand in his own. "I'm here. We're all here. An ambulance is on its way. You're going to be all right."

Somewhere behind him, Kurt registered the sound of a thud and Finn and Puck joined Blaine.

"Oh Jesus…" Finn said, taking his jersey off to try and stop the bleeding, but it didn't do much good because it was soaked through in a matter of seconds.

"He s-s-said they…" Kurt began, but Blaine put a finger on Kurt's lips to quiet him.

"Ssssh….don't try to talk," Blaine whispered. He took his coat off and bunched it up. "I'm putting this under your head, okay?" he said, stroking away a damp curl from his forehead. "Somebody's called an ambulance, right?"

"He's in here!" Rachel called out. She let out a gasp when she saw him on the floor. "Oh my GOD."

Another EMT swooped in and went to the other end of the barn. "You didn't tell me there'd be two people injured," he said to nobody in particular.

"Yeah, well, that one wasn't exactly planned," Puck said.

"Kurt?" one of the EMTs said, but at some point, Kurt had closed his eyes. "Kurt can you hear me?" Kurt opened his eyes, but only made a strangled sound.

David barged in then, and said nothing as his eyes darted from Kurt to Blaine and then back to Kurt.

"Oh my…" Wes breathed.

"KURT PLEASE!" Blaine shouted, trying to make his way passed the EMT put a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Kid, we're trying to help your friend, okay?" the EMT said, leading him by the shoulder. "Let us do our job."

Blaine leaned against one of the stalls, and sunk down and could do nothing but cover his face with his hands as he sobbed. He barely registered strong hands pulling him up, but before he knew it, someone was hugging him with all their might.

"Come on Blaine," Finn said. "Let's go meet him at the hospital."

"The Warblers are right behind you, New Directions Finn," Wes said.


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: So...um you guys all read the summary, right?**

***runs and hides***

* * *

Carole Hudson Hummel worked in this hospital. She was used to the sights, the sounds, the smells, and more often than not knew the people at least in passing. The lady at the ER Admissions Nurse (Anita Ferguson) had even attended her and Burt's wedding.

That wedding seemed like a lifetime ago.

When Carole first started seeing Burt, she'd been thrilled that Burt and Finn got along so well. She was most worried that Burt and Finn wouldn't get along at all, but they quickly became two peas in a pod, going to games, talking cars, and doing a lot of things Finn had missed out on as a boy. Burt was such a good guy. Better than she certainly deserved, and she quickly grew attached to Kurt as well. She didn't always understand Kurt when they first met, but she thought he was sweet, intelligent, and kind. Kurt was only a year younger than Finn, but she saw a precious, lonely little boy who, although he was a little bit misguided in his intentions at first, was a genuinely good person who just wanted to be loved.

Kurt wasn't perfect, and Lord knows his relationship with Finn wasn't either, but Kurt was hers every bit as much as Finn was now. She'd lost her first husband to a horrible war. Now, the thought of losing that sweet, kind-hearted boy to something equally as terrible and senseless enough to break her apart at the seams if she dwelled on it to long, so she couldn't.

At the moment, she was could be strong for Burt, Finn, and Kurt's friends. She knew she couldn't fall to pieces because someone had to take care of things. There was paperwork to be filled out. There were children who were up much later than they should be who needed taken care of.

Kids like Blaine Anderson. Carole really loved Blaine. He was so polite, so talented, and so obviously smitten with Kurt. He was always so together, and it was unnerving to see him with puffy eyes, disheveled hair, and what was undoubtedly blood over his pressed shirt.

"It's been over three hours," Blaine said weakly. "You'd think they'd have some news by now."

"We've just got to wait," Wes said. "I am sure that Kurt is not their only patient."

"Maybe it's a good thing they're taking so long," Quinn answered, fiddling with the hem of her Cheerios uniform. "It means they're busy. It means he's still…"

"They'll come out and tell us when there's news," Carole reassured them. "I know the doctor. He's one of the best." It was true. He was a good doctor and a good man. All the nurses who worked in Dr. Peters' office worshipped the ground he walked on.

"You know there are 171, 476 words in the latest count of the Oxford English Dictionary?" Thad said. "There are 171, 476 words, and those are the ones currently in use. There are, in addition, 47, 156 obsolete words and approximately 9,500 derivative words. Out of all of those words, a quarter of those are adjectives, and there is nothing, nothing at all that exists to accurately describe what I'm feeling right now."

"I kinda wanna puke right about now," Lauren announced. "I was supposed to be looking out for him."

"Let me know if you're gonna hurl," Puck said. "I'll hold your hair back. At least that would be doing something."

Lauren didn't have time to respond.

Carole's head snapped up as Dr. Peters appeared in the doorway. Finn noticed his mom's reaction at that point and nudged Mercedes awake, who'd finally cried herself to sleep on his shoulder.

"That's him?" Burt asked. It was the first words he'd spoken since they got the call from that young man from Kurt's new glee club. Carole thought his name might've been Wes, but she couldn't be sure.

The young man put a hand on Blaine's shoulder and nodded in the doctor's direction, and although they'd all been absorbed in their laptops or their cell phones or dozing, they were fully alert and focused.

Carole nodded and inhaled a sharp breath.

She tried to read his expression, and sharply inhaled as she, Finn and Burt approached him, reminding her of the scene in _Wizard of Oz_ when Dorothy, the Tin Man and The Cowardly Lion had entered the wizard's chambers and were frightened out of their wits, but holding on to each other for dear life.

Only here, there was no smoke machine. Here, it was no illusion. And the wizard could do nothing for them.

She prayed that wasn't the case.

The doctor eyed the gaggle of teens in the waiting room watching them like hawks, and led them out to a separate waiting room in an area of the hospital that had long-since closed for the day.

"When can I see my kid?" Burt asked.

Dr. Peters didn't answer immediately. He just sighed, and looked down. He didn't even need to finish the sentence. "I am so very sorry to have to tell you…"

Tears began streaming down her face then. Finn looked wildly from her back to the doctor and then back to her. Burt immediately tensed and tightened his grip on his wife's hand.

"Oh no…" she finally choked out.

"I'm so, so sorry," Dr. Peters said. "We did everything we could, but by the time he got to us…"

"This has to be a mistake," Finn said. "We got there in time. Check again. Are you sure it's Kurt, and not somebody else?"

"I wish it was, kid. I really do," Dr. Peters said. "He hung on a lot longer than he should have, given the amount of blood-loss he'd sustained by the time he arrived. It's amazing he made it to the operating table at all."

"When can I see my kid?" Burt asked again.

"The body's en route to the morgue right now. When we've finished the autopsy…"

Burt grabbed the doctor by the collar and shoved him against the wall. "AUTOPSY? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU NEED AN AUTOSPY FOR? YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!"

"It's standard procedure, sir. The DA requested it for his case. Once we're done with the body…then you…"

"Wait…how does the DA even know…" Carole started.

"Wes called 9-1-1. He was probably called when Karofsky was brought in."

"It's not A. BODY. THAT'S MY KID! I HAVE A RIGHT TO SEE MY OWN SON!"

Finn didn't know how he was able to get him off Burt. "Come on Burt, you know it's not good for your heart to go off like that."

"Yeah, well, my heart's got no right to be beating. Not…not when Kurt's…" he collapsed onto a nearby bench, then, and buried his head in his hands. He dissolved into sobs, unable to finish the sentence.

"I'm so sorry," Carole told Dr. Peters. "He's just…"

"Hey, I get it," Dr. Peters told her. "Nobody knows how they react when stuff like this happens. Listen, there are some forms he needs to fill out, but if you want to bring him back tomorrow…"

Carole nodded.

"I have to uh…his friends are waiting in there. I should…they've been waiting a long time. They need to go home. Get some sleep."

"Mom," Finn said, letting out a shaky breath. "Stay with Burt. He doesn't need to be alone right now."

"Honey…" Carole began.

"Mom," Finn said, clinging on to her for dear life. "Somebody's got to tell them."

Finn stared at the linoleum floor in front of the door of the hallway leading to the waiting room for a very long time, to the point that the tiny spots in the tile and the lines blurred into each other and bore into his retinas. He closed his eyes, but he could still see them.

This wasn't happening. This was all a nightmare. Any moment now, he'd wake up and he'd be pissed because it'd be a couple of hours before he had to wake up, but Kurt would be sleeping in the room next door, but deep down, he knew it wasn't true.

And he had to go out there and tell everyone what had happened.

He opened his eyes and took another deep breath and opened the door.

Blaine, Rachel and Mercedes were both out of their chairs like a shot, looking at him expectantly.

"So can we go see him?" Blaine asked.

Finn shook his head.

"Why not?" Rachel asked quietly. "Why can't we…"

Finn just looked down at the floor, unable to meet anyone's eyes.

"They said they did everything they could…" Finn said in a voice that didn't sound like his, even to his own ears. "They said he shouldn't have even made it to the operating table…"

Tears pricked at his eyes again. "I thought it was some kind of mistake at first…but…"

Rachel shook her head violently and held her ears.

"Oh no…." Mercedes choked out between sobs, her arms wrapping around her body tightly and rocking back and forth. "No no no no no…."

"Oh God…" Blaine breathed.

The walls began closing in around Blaine then, and he gasped for air as his lungs suddenly refused to function properly.

"Warbler David," Wes said, suddenly springing to action. "Take Warbler Blaine outside for some air. Warbler David, don't let him out of your sight. Stay with Warbler Blaine like glue, David. Like glue."

"Got it," David said, going outside.

Wes was about to say something else, but he was interrupted by the sound of the glass bottle of Arizona Tea Puck was drinking smashing into a million pieces on the floor.

"GODDAMNIT!" Puck yelled.

"Puck, man, calm down," Mike said, but Puck was pacing like a caged tiger.

"I'm supposed to calm down? I'm supposed to fucking CALM DOWN? Karofsky's rotting in jail right now, but he's FUCKING BREATHING and IT'S NOT FUCKING FAIR!"

"It's not…but Puck…" Lauren said.

"NO LAUREN! I'm not taking this lying down. Karofsky's going to fucking pay. Who's with me?"

With that he left.

"New Directions," Wes said. "Here's what I propose. New Direction Mike. You and New Direction Artie, go after New Direction Puck." He inhaled sharply. "Warbler Kurt told me…" he cleared his throat. "He obviously does not need to be left alone right now. The last thing we need is a trip to jail tonight."

"This is my business card," he said, taking out a silver card-holder and giving them each a copy. "Anyone who needs anything, anything at all, do not hesitate to use that number, and please keep us in the loop regarding any developments."

"Warblers," he said, turning to the Dalton crowd, "we will escort New Directions home, as it is unsafe for them to drive in this state of mind. Warbles Thad, Nick and Jeff, attend to the young ladies. Everyone else is heading back to Westerfield, with the exception of Warblers Blaine, David and myself. Warbler Trent," he said, tossing him the keys. "You're driving."

"New Directions Finn," Wes said in a voice barely above a whisper, turning to him now and laying a hand on his shoulder. "I wish tonight had ended differently. Truly, I do. I cannot express how sorry I am for your loss."

Finn nodded.

"There is nothing in the Official Handbook that directly addresses…this kind of situation. But if there's anything else I can do…"

"Thank you," Rachel answered for him.

"We should go home," Quinn said., sniffling.

"I should wait for mom and Burt," Finn said.

"We could stay…if you want," Matt said.

"If you don't wanna go home tonight, my parents probably won't mind if you sleep over," Sam offered.

Carole emerged in the doorway then, her face tear-streaked and her eyes all puffy and red.

"Finn, they said we can see him."

It wasn't until they hit the button for the basement and the elevator opened directly to The Morgue that it hit him.

His brother was gone. And nothing was bringing him back.


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: I understand that some of you are angered by the outcome in this story. I realize I didn't explicitly warn for character-death, but that was because I thought given the summary and the tone of the story, the outcome would be expected. Also, anyone who writes knows that the writer is not the one in charge of events here. We are all but slaves to our muses. So blame him. AdamPascalFan, who originally posted the prompt on the glee_angst_meme on LJ also claims responsibility, since this story was pretty much her idea to begin with. So, if anyone is still reading, thank you for sticking with me!**

* * *

Blaine Anderson wished, more than anything, that Time Turners were real.

The consequences of time-travel be damned. Surely, the Universe would forgive him in this case. There was nothing RIGHT about Kurt dying.

Any minute now, he was going to wake up with his heart racing and his mind reeling, and a morning text message from Kurt waiting for him on his night stand.

But this particular nightmare was real, and no amount of wishing was making the fact that his boyfriend just died any less true.

"WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?" He screamed.

"Ssssh, Blaine….I know…" David whispered.

"How could I have been SUCH AN IDIOT?"

"Nobody could've known what would happen, Blaine," Wes reminded him.

"You have no idea. NO IDEA! When Kurt first came to Dalton, he was TERRIFIED."

"We know," David said.

"NO YOU DON'T. He'd been scared of Karofsky even then, and what did I tell him? I told him 'courage.' I told him…to be brave."

"You gave the best advice you could with the information you had," Wes said. "Anyone else would've said the same thing."

"The thing is…no amount of bravery could stop that brute," Blaine said.

"No, Blaine, nobody could," David answered.

"I could've come to the game," Blaine said.

"WHY COULDN'T I HAVE BEEN THERE? His dad trusted me to look out for him. WHY COULDN'T IT HAVE BEEN ME?"

"At the end of the day you did the best you could," David reminded him. "You did the best you could with the information you had."

"Why didn't I come with him?" Blaine sobbed. "Then he wouldn't have even…maybe…"

"Well, He's not hyperventilating anymore, at least," Wes said.

"You guys should just take me home," Blaine said in an unnaturally calm tone. "I just…I want to go home," he repeated.

Wes and David shot each other worried looks.

"Wes and I don't think you need to be alone right now," David said.

"I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!" Blaine screamed, and David and Wes both jumped.

"We can't go home just yet," Wes said. "I promised Warbler Kurt's family I would see them home."

"So David can take me home," Blaine said as though it were the most logical solution in the world.

"Blaine…" David said. Wes and David shot each other another nervous glance again.

"I'm just really tired. It's been a long night. Can we PLEASE just go home?" Blaine asked again.

"Dammit, Blaine!" Wes said. "We are NOT leaving you alone right now!"

"WHY NOT?"

"We've lost one Warbler tonight already," Wes said, near tears now himself. "I'll be damned if we lose two."

"IT SHOULD'VE BEEN ME!" Blaine screamed. "I SHOULD BE DEAD RIGHT NOW! THEY WERE GOING TO KILL ME, TOO! DID YOU KNOW THAT, WES?"

Nobody noticed Matt Rutherford standing a couple of feet away.

"I know you were attacked. I saw your cuts and bruises," Wes said as calmly as possible.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Blaine raged. "I'M ONLY ALIVE BECAUSE OF PURE DUMB LUCK!"

Blaine let out a long, keening cry then, David and Wes both wrapped their arms around him.

A stranger Matt didn't recognize must've been standing there for several minutes before he finally spoke up.

"Blaine?" A man Wes vaguely recognized, but couldn't really put a name to the face. "Blaine Anderson?"

"I don't think Mr. Anderson is in any condition to talk to anyone just now," Wes began. "So if you don't mind…"

"No, Wes, it's okay…" Blaine sniffled, his voice raspy and weak.

"I'm with the DA's office," he said.

"Mr. Hughes…I remember," Blaine answered, hostility lacing his tone.

"Look, I just got back from county jail and I thought you'd like to know…Dave Karofsky has been charged with murder."

"It was a hate crime," Blaine said. "He should be charged with a. Hate. Crime. What about the guys who attacked me tonight? They should be at least charged with a hate crime."

"I know, but murder is the greater charge, and easier to establish," Hughes answered. "Ohio has the death penalty, and since this was clearly pre-meditated and took a sophisticated amount of strategy to carry this plan out, we won't have any trouble proving that. It'll be up to a jury to decide, but I think we have a fair shot at getting twelve people to agree that the son of a bitch doesn't deserve to live."

"Thank you doesn't seem to be quite the right response here," Blaine answered.

Hughes sighed ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, I feel completely responsible for what happened tonight. I should have fought harder when Karofsky was put on house arrest, but at the time, it was his first offense, and he'd behaved himself in prison, the jails were over-crowded."

"Yeah, well, you should." David said, seething.

Mr. Hughes sighed. "Do you remember any of their names?"

Blaine shook his head.

"I do," Matt said, speaking up for the first time.

"Do you mind coming down to the precinct after I talk to Kurt's family?" Hughes asked.

Matt shook his head.

"They haven't gone home yet, have they?"

Wes shook his head. "I think you'll find them in the morgue."

* * *

The first thing that struck Finn was the quiet.

It should've been peaceful there, with all that quiet, but instead, Finn thought it was creepy.

There were two other people in scrubs besides the doctor glancing up to tell them he'd be a minute, and one of them seemed preoccupied with another body. That bothered him; the fact that this place was FULL of dead people bothered him intensely. Not that he could exactly CATCH what they had, but still, he'd never even really been to a funeral before, and suddenly, everywhere he turned, there was a _body_. A dead, decaying _body_.

And one of them was Kurt's.

Sounds didn't come over a loud speaker. In fact, the only sound at all was a doctor saying things he already knew or things he didn't really understand to Burt and Carole. "He sustained a stab wound…"

'Well, DUH!' Finn thought.

Only, he must've said it aloud, though, because the doctor, Burt and Carole both jumped. "I saw the knife. I saw him bleeding to death on that barn floor…I was THERE. It's not exactly rocket-science to figure out why my brother's gone!"

"Finn, honey," Carole said. "Calm down."

"Sorry," Finn mumbled. He let out a shaky breath. "Sorry," he said again.

Burt shot a dirty look at Finn and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Look, I know what happened. We've got a long day tomorrow. I just want to get home, so if I could just…" Burt's voice broke, but he swallowed hard and let out a shakey breath. "It's been a long night. Can I just see my son? Please?" Carole squeezed her husband hand, but he wrenched it free. "Take Finn and go wait outside Carole."

"Burt, honey, I don't think you should…"

"Just go!" He barked.

Carole just nodded. "We'll be right outside," she reminded him gently, and took Finn's hand.

"Hey mom," Finn said. "Sorry for losing it back there, I just…"

"Sssssh, honey, it's okay," Carole told her son, pulling him into a hug.

Suddenly, she was holding onto him as though it were for dear life. Her body was shaking with sobs., and there was nothing that Finn could do but hold his mom and cry with her.


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: I tried to write something a little less...gut-wrenching than a Burt scene, but Raul the Muse was not having it. **

* * *

"Who's in charge here?" Burt barked. He'd been standing just inside the doorway watching the people hustle by. Nobody even seemed to notice he was there.

"You really should be wearing a protective mask," a tall, gangly woman with a bird-like nose and half-moon glasses rummaging through a door and handing her a paper mask identical tot he one she was waering. "I'm Dr. Morrison. I'm the Coroner for this county."

With a glare, Burt took it and tossed the unwrapped mask in the garbage can.

The Coroner just shrugged. "Your funeral."

"I lost my son tonight. I'm pissed off enough. You REALLY want to test me?"

"What's his name?" she said rolling her eyes.

"Kurt," Burt said shakily. "Kurt Hummel."

"Third one on the left," she said, tersely.

"Hey, Kid," Burt said in a voice barely above a whisper. The thin blue sheet covered all but hair that was dirty and it wasn't until he tried to touch it that he realized it was matted with blood. "I know you didn't believe in God, and right now I'm not sure I do, either. When I found out you were on the way, I was terrified. Your mom and I had just gotten married. I had just gotten a job in a garage, and I was barely making enough for the two of us to get by on, let alone another human being. But the moment they put you in my arms, I wanted to give you everything I had. I knew you were something _so _special, Kid. I thought about all the things we'd do together. And then you started to walk and talk, and I knew you were different. I couldn't understand why you asked for a pair of sensible heels for your birthday, or why you played tea-party or put on your own productions for fun, but your mom and I didn't really care about all that. It made you happy. When you grew up, I thought I'd teach you how to fix cars, how to ride a bike, and how to catch a baseball, but you had other ideas. At least I got two out of three."

Burt chuckled, and didn't realize the coroner and her assistants were looking up from the current corpse they were working on, and the chuckles turned into sobs.

Very gently, he pulled down the blanket. "This isn't happening…" he took both of Kurt's now-frigid hands in his. They were cold and lifeless, but for one brief moment he hoped if it really _had_ been some giant mistake, and Kurt would squeeze back.

But it didn't happen. "I'd give anything to trade places with you, Kid. You know that? I kept hearing about kids like Matthew Sheppard and all those other boys like you, and it terrified me, because I was so afraid, and look where we are now. How am I supposed to do this without you, Kurt?"

The Coroner and the two employees had moved closer, then.

"I get a lot of people in here saying good bye to their loved ones, Mr. Hummel," Dr. Morrison said, tears streaking down his face. "We see way too many kids in here, and…I just want to offer my condolences.

Burt nodded. He ran his hand over Kurt's matted hair, tousling it one last time.

"God, what I wouldn't give to have him fuss at me right now for messing up his hair."

Dr. Morrison handed her a card. "Call us when you make final arrangements," she said, blowing her nose. "We'll make sure to get your son's body to the right place."

Burt nodded, took one last look towards Kurt's corpse, and walked out the door.

* * *

Finn wasn't sure when the elevator doors opened, or when the hallway was occupied by someone else other than them. It must've been 3AM, and he was pretty sure that the morgue didn't have many visitors, especially not wearing fancy suits. AM or somewhere along those line

"Excuse me, Mrs. Hummel?" he said, clearing his throat. "Could we talk for a minute?"

Finn let go. "Um, listen, this is a really bad time. Maybe you can…"

"No, Finn," she said, inhaling a deep breath and drawing herself up to her full height. "I'm glad he's here, actually."

"I'm Peyton Hughes," he said. "I'm the DA for this county."

"I remember you," Carole seethed. Finn could practically see steam coming out of her ears."

"Yes. I was overseeing the Anderson case, and I just wanted you to know…Dave Karofsky has been charged with murder and…"

"Karofsky's been charged with murder, huh?" Carole scoffed. "What about the kids who kidnapped him? Were _they_ charged with anything?"

"We're working on that, and I'm personally…"

"Oh, wait. Let me guess," she said marching toward him slowly and deliberately. "You're personally seeing to it that all persons responsible for what happened tonight pay to the fullest extent of the law?"

Hughes nodded. "That is my intention, ma'am."

"Well then, they'd better make room for one more."

"Excuse me?"

"Because if you're punishing everyone responsible, then YOU belong right there with them."

Hughes only stared at her for a long moment, and Finn shifted nervously in place.

"Ma'am, I assure you, I feel completely respons…"

"It's been a rough night," Finn said. "Maybe if you just…"

"MURDERER!" Carole screamed, making both Finn and Hughes jump.

"Mom, calm down, we're kind of…in a morgue…"

"MURDERER!" she screamed again, louder this time. "How in the hell do you even live with yourself?"

"She's kind of having a hard time," Finn said in lieu of an apology.

"Mrs. Hummel, I know you're upset right now, and you have every right to be just…"

"NO! I will NOT 'just!' You are listening to what I have to say. You could've done _everything_ in your power to keep that monster in jail and away from Kurt, but what did you do? You allowed him to be put on _house arrest_. How in the world does that even happen with someone convicted of _a violent crime_?Instead, you sit on your thumbs and a that…_psycho_ kills a sweet, wonderful boy whose only crime is daring to breathe the same air!"

"Ma'am, I did everything I could…"

"Bullshit!" Carole spat.

"_**Woah**_, Mom!" Finn said, eyes bugging out of his head.

"You may not have twisted the knife in his stomach, but you're just as guilty as the bastard who did! Because of _you_, a father who loved his son more than anything in the world has to plan his child's _funeral_. We have to go home to a house that will _always _have an empty seat at the dinner table, and have a room that will _always_ be the way that boy left it, and he'll never sing again, never laugh again, never do the amazing things I know he could've done because _you _couldn't do your damn job."

It seemed like a long time before Hughes even dared to speak again.

"I am…I don't know what I can say…" he said, throwing his hands up in the air. "We'll be in touch." Then he turned around and in small, quick strides.

Carole let out a sigh that turned into a sob. "I'm sorry you had to see that, honey. I was…_am_…just so _mad _and I couldn't just let him come in here and apologize and then pretend to be competent when I know damn well he wasn't."

"It's okay, Mom," Finn said, pulling her into a hug. "I've just never heard you cuss before."


	24. Chapter 24

**Thank you for staying with me! We've got just a couple of chapters to go.**

* * *

"Do you think Mr. Schue knows what happened?" Quinn asked.

"Nobody's called him," Sam said. "I mean, none of us really have his number, so…"

"I have his number," Rachel said. "I faked a panic attack during the ballad assignment so I'd have access to Ms. Pillsbury's cell phone. Not one of my proudest moments, but I don't really want to be the one to tell him. If I tell him, then it'll be real, and it can't be real."

"How the hell are we supposed to go to Glee on Monday?" Tina wondered aloud.

"It's going to be so _weird_." Lauren said. "I mean, I didn't really know him all that well, but it seems like we're always getting Kurt updates from Finn, and now…"

"I'm just so…confused," Brittany said. "I mean, a _lot _of things confuse me, but everyone else looks just as lost as I feel, and I liked it better when there was someone telling us what to do."

"It'll be hard to find another counter-tenor as good as he was," Nick said.

"It's strange, thinking of Warbler Kurt in the past tense," Thad mused. "It doesn't seem right."

"It's not _fair_!" Mercedes wailed. She'd been quiet until then, almost forgotten in the seat closest to the door. "How the hell does this even _happen_? Why on _Earth_ did we let his skinny ass go off by himself like that? We were supposed to be looking out for him!"

"Nobody could've known, Mercedes," Rachel tried to say. "I'm slightly…"

"Oh hell no. I know you are not going to try to pass that 'slightly psychic' crap right now. We KNEW this could happen! We knew people hated him enough to hurt him! It's like some damn ripped-from-the-headlines Lifetime movie or somethin', but it's not some cheesy piece of crap you only watch when nothing else is on, this is actual honest-to-God life. It's not some stranger we heard about in passing on the news, it's my _best friend. _Who's gonna call me at the end of the night and tell me about everything and nothing at the same time? Who am I gonna call when all the good things happen now? And all the bad stuff, too? Who's gonna eat my mushrooms off my pizza? Who's gonna call me out when I need it, and believe in me when nobody else will? I just…I can't believe he's gone."

Mercedes dissolved into a sobbing mess, and in a flash, Rachel's arms were around her. Then Quinn's, then Brittany, who motioned for Santana to join them. Santana rolled her eyes and folded her arms, but muttered something in Spanish as she reluctantly joined them.

"God I hate this," Santana murmured as she leaned against someone's shoulders. "I hate this so fucking much."

* * *

Will Schuester rarely got visitors, and definitely nobody at six AM, but he was awoken by the sound of his doorbell. When a glance through the peep-hole revealed Sue Sylvester in a black tracksuit, he wasn't exactly feeling hospitable.

"Go away Sue!"

"Schuester! Open up!"

"What the hell do you want Sue?"

"Scheuster, normally, I love delivering bad news, especially to you, but in this case…" she shook her head.

"What, no cheap-shots about my chin? No jokes about my hair, or my manhood? Sue, I do believe you're going soft."

"There is NOTHING soft about Sue Sylvester! After a respectable mourning period, I'll resume the verbal onslaught as usual, but for now, I wave a white flag. As a courtesy."

"Mourning period?"

"I know how close you are with your students. You, unlike me, foster a place of acceptance and caring. While your kids get their kum-bay-ya-yas out, mine are completing a constructed replica of the Navy Seals training course. I think that makes my students better-prepared for life, but hey, we all have our different teaching styles."

"What's your point, Sue?" Will said, beyond aggravated with the woman.

"Porcelain," she said, suddenly unable to look him in the eyes. "Front page."

** Bullying Results in Local Teen's Death**

Could Ohio have a Matthew Sheppard on their hands? Authorities were dispatched to the Sullivan farm on the outskirts of town in response to a 9-1-1 call made by a Columbus student in town for a Titans game late Friday evening. Responders rushed to the aid of Kurt Hummel, sixteen, who was taken to St. Rita's Memorial Hospital, where he died during surgery due to severe blood loss. David Karofsky, who had been convicted earlier in the year of attempted murder of another gay teen and was on house arrest at the time due to an over-crowding issue, has been charged with his murder. Karofsky, who was formerly on the football and hockey teams for the McKinley Titans, targeted Hummel because of his sexuality. Hummel was the only openly gay student at that school. The governor has said in an issued statement that he will "personally fund construction of additional facilities so that no more families will have to go through similar tragedies." He is survived by father, Burt Hummel, stepmother, Carole Hudson-Hummel, and stepbrother Finn Hudson.

"Oh my God…" he mumbled, stumbling backwards to the couch.

"From what I understand, Hudson and his fellow teammates (and my Cheerios, I might add) stormed off the field, forfeiting the game to try and intervene. Apparently, when they got there, he was still alive, and they made it to the hospital, but…" she shook her head.

"Oh man." He wasn't even aware he was crying until two large droplets bled through the paper.

"Normally, I like nothing better than kicking a dog when he's down and making fun of you while you're crying, but in this case, I just wanted to come and offer my condolences. Porcelain was a good kid."

"I should call Emma," Will said. "She'll want to know, too."

"I'm stopping by what I believe is commonly referred to as the Hudmel residence later today to offer sympathy to Kurt's family. If you'd like, you can join me."

"Yeah…thanks."

He reached out to hug Sue, but Sue stepped aside. "Not a hugger, Will. Not under ANY circumstances. Strangle-hold, yes. Hug? No."


	25. Chapter 25

"Mom?" Blaine's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Blaine, if you want I can talk to her," David offered, but Blaine put a hand up and shook his head.

"Is that David?" his mother asked. "Tell him he needs to call home as well. Do you know Mrs. Bryant has called here three times asking after him? As for you, Blaine, after you get home, you are grounded until further notice. Blaine, honey, your father and I have been worried sick! It's 4AM. Why aren't you at home?"

"Sorry…just…I needed…I was at the hospital."

"Blaine?" his mother asked. "Are you all right? You're brother's home for the weekend and I'm sure he'd like to see you. I could send Caleb to pick you up if need…"

"It's fine mom, I'm fine."

"Like hell you are. Blaine, what in Heaven's name is going on? No, no, no. Don't tell me. I'm probably better off in the dark on that matter. But Blaine, this is it. I have had it. Your father and I have just had a very long discussion regarding your current state of affairs, and we have both come to the conclusion that it is time for you to grow up. Ever since you started seeing that _boy_, it's like you've become a different person. I hardly _know _you anymore. You're never home. Whenever you ARE home, you're constantly on your phone texting or on your computer, and I know it's because you're talking to _him. _I get calls from Dalton saying you've cut class and when your father and I ask you why, you tell us it's to see him! You miss curfew. You're never here for dinner with the family anymore. You know your SATs are coming up in a month and if you don't prepare, the only thing you'll be qualified for in life will involve a paper hat and asking 'Would you like fries with that.' I _certainly_ hope he's worth…"

"Forget it. Wes, David and I are at a hotel in Lima. I'll be home in the morning."

"Honey, _what_ is going on?"

"We were at that football game. A bunch of guys jumped us…."

"Oh Jesus…Blaine honey, was it the same guy who attacked you before? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine mom. Not the same guy. Different guys. I got beaten up, but I'll live. Kurt…" he sucked in a deep breath as he tried to form the words. His eyes were already swollen and he already had a massive headache, but the tears started again as if he hadn't already cried an ocean's worth. He thought he could say it. He thought he'd wrapped his brain around the concept that Kurt was dead. He'd repeated it to himself enough times since it happened, but he hadn't said the words aloud yet. "Kurt's not going to be a problem anymore."

"Well, that's a relief," she said. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry you and Kurt are broken up, but honestly, honey, you need to forget…"

"We're not broken up, Mom," he said in a small voice that didn't sound like himself even to his own ears. "He's dead."

"Oh my GOD. Blaine, honey…I don't…I'm so sorry. What can I do? Do you need…?"

"No, Mom. I'll be home in the morning. I'll call when I leave."

"Honey, can you forward me his family's contact information? I'd like to send condolences."

"Why, mom? You barely made an effort to get to know him. You didn't even _like_ him. Dad looked down his nose at Mr. Hummel like he was some kind of _servant_ because he's a mechanic. The truth is, Mom, I'm not home for dinner anymore because I felt like I actually _mattered_ at the Hummel's. Like I actually _counted_."

"It's just the right thing to do, Blaine, and if you felt that way, why didn't you…"

"Oh, please, like you would've actually LISTENED if I'd said something."

"I could've _tried_, Blaine. You never let us in. You never gave us a chance! Blaine, I think we should have this discussion later when you've had a chance to calm down and…"

"No, you know what?" Blaine grumbled. " Forget it Mom."

"Blaine Patrick Anderson don't you DARE…"

Whatever his mother was about to say, he didn't hear it. "David, call your mom," he said after a long while.

Wes and David didn't say anything in response. They just exchanged questioning looks, and waited for him to continue.

"That was my mom on the phone," Blaine announced after several long, agonizing minutes.

"We know, Blaine," Wes said.

"He's dead," Blaine said to nobody in particular.

Wes and David both laid a hand on Blaine's shoulder.

"We know, Blaine," David said, and handed Blaine a small, white pill.

"David, I don't' even want to know why you have medication with you for what was supposed to be a short trip," Wes said.

"It was in my pocket from the last time I slept over at Blaine's."

"That can_not _be sanitary," Wes said.

"It's just a little linty. But Blaine, you need some rest."

"I hate sleeping pills," Blaine argued. "In fact, pills in general are just…the devil."

"Blaine," Wes said, "as a doctor's son I have to advise against taking someone else's medication. But in this case…take it. Please."

"Let me help you," David pleaded. "I know you're hurting. But you need to rest."

"David," Blaine said. "Thanks, but I'm going to take a cue from Nancy Reagan here and just say no. Drugs aren't going to help."

"Sleep will," Wes said. "You haven't slept in almost forty-eight hours. I know you pulled an all-nighter for that chem exam. The body can't function on that kind of sleep depravation."

"Guy's…I'm not…"

"Blaine, don't make me use the gavel," Wes said.

"How about a compromise," David suggested. "A half a pill?"

Blaine nodded and took it, swallowing without any water.

When Blaine opened his eyes, he was in his old room at Dalton, which struck him as odd. He thought Wes and David were going to take him HOME home, but he supposed it didn't really matter. He didn't want to have to face his parents.

Blaine jumped when the door flew open, and he blinked in confusion at the sight that greeted him.

Kurt.

_His_ Kurt.

"Jesus, Kurt…you're…" Blaine stammered.

"Hi Blaine," he said in that high, breathy voice of his, blue-green-grey eyes twinkling with mischief. "Like my outfit?"

"Tell me you're real," Blaine whispered. "Please, tell me you're really here and you're really you."

"I'm real, Blaine. I'm really here, and I'm really me," Kurt replied, gaze never wavering from Blaine's.

Blaine could only blink, and he wondered why he didn't notice before that Kurt was completely, entirely in tact. And completely, entirely naked.

"You're not wearing any…" Blaine breathed, but Kurt put a fingertip to his lips and shushed him.

"I know," he said quirking an eyebrow and grinning wickedly. "Although, I don't really know how _that_ happened. Or what happened to my favorite scarf. It was McQueen!"

Blaine just laughed and reveled in the feel of Kurt's warm breath inches from his face. Blaine's fingertips ghosted over the gaping wound where the knife had stabbed him.

"I love you," Blaine said. "I don't want to find out what life is like without you."

"Blaine Warbler, I'll bet you say that to all your dead boyfriends."

"Please, Kurt. Don't leave me," Blaine said, and then kissed him fiercely with all the strength he had left in him.

"I want to, Blaine, but I can't…you _know_ I can't." Kurt's porcelain skin started to crack under Blaine's fingertips. His skin was now cold and wet like melting snow to the touch. A metallic-pink substance oozed from Kurt's pores and Blaine could do nothing but scream as Kurt's head split in half above him. Kurt smelled like mold and rotting garbage and it made Blaine gag and gasp for air. He finally managed to push Kurt's now-rotting corpse off of him, but not before falling off the bed.

And then he woke up, trapped in his sheets in a tangled mess on the floor.


End file.
